Masked Casanova
by IAmTarrlocked
Summary: *Women are being abducted from the streets of Republic City. What happens when the Avatar herself is taken?* Crossover story inspired by a highly underrated 1990s movie. Rated M for later chapters (profanity, non-con things).
1. Chapter 1

AN: After marathon watching LOK and trying to find a story to satisfy my particular fanfiction tastes, I resorted to writing my own story. Anyway, here goes my first fanfiction! It's a combination of LOK and a 1990s guilty pleasure movie (which, after some quick Google-ing, I realize is based on a book… huh… I should have seen that coming…). Anyway, guess if you feel like it, and if not, simply enjoy the ride.

My Amon (haha that sounds ridiculous) can also kill people with his bending. That makes sense, right? He can control someone's blood, for Sokka's sake. He can surely kill someone, right?!

I don't have a beta and I'm really just posting this to see if anyone else finds this strangely fascinating. Plus, writing this fic seems like a great way to spend my winter break. Anyway, please give me some feedback – negative or positive – and let me know if this story has a place in the LOK fandom.

* * *

Chapter 1 – Just breathe.

She could feel her blood struggling to move through her veins. The building throb of sanguine liquid that should rightfully be coursing through her body was stilted by a sharp and piercing control… A power unleashed by the man towering above her rigid form.

A man who hid behind a mask.

She had almost gotten used to the mixture of dirt and leaves that gently swirled in and out of her mouth with every breath – breathing seemed to be the one thing she still had control over – when her view suddenly shifted. She felt herself slowly rising from the forest floor. As he ripped the fabric covering her eyes away from her face, she was blinded by the bright orange sunlight that wasn't caught by the thin tree trunks and their even thinner branches.

_Sunset or sunrise, I wonder…_

The young woman hadn't seen natural light – or even the outside world – for two months? three? more? After the first couple weeks, she lost track of time. All she knew were the decaying stone walls of her "room," the small bed and nightstand shoved in the corner… and the sick dread that came from waiting for him to return. Though his visits to her "room" were full of pain and humiliation, the silence of his absence was worse. True, she at least had control over her own body during these times, but mentally she was being tortured. She could never figure out his schedule, but perhaps he was intentionally sporadic in his visits.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of the wind whipping his hood against his mask. If the man in question wasn't currently controlling her body, she surely would have jumped at the startling noise.

She suddenly realized how deeply he had destroyed her. She used to be a strong, defiant firebender. But now… She recalled her "room" and how in the times when he was gone, every miniscule sound that she heard was its own torture device. The innocent sound of water trickling out of her decrepit faucet blended into his footfalls echoing down the stone hallway outside her barred door. A pebble loosening itself from the walls quickly became the sound of his mask brushing against her skin.

Her skin, which he held in his bloodbending grasp. She finally accepted that she would never escape him alive…

Him.

The man who was currently bending her form into a grotesque kneeling position. She felt the leaves, damp with morning dew, the jagged rocks, and the snapping twigs against her exposed knees as he forced her back down to the ground. As her arms continued to naturally fight against his bloodbending, forming most unnatural positions in their futile struggles, she painfully felt her back arch. Her field of vision quickly shifted from the browning forest leaves, to the tree branches, and finally rested on the treetops silhouetted against the beautiful sky.

Then, his face appeared. No, not his face. His mask.

A frightening blend of white and cream, broken up by a gleaming red circle in the middle of where his forehead should be. But, perhaps what terrified her the most were the dark, black chasms that made up the eyes and mouth. His eyes: the only part of his face that was uncovered. Though she thought she saw them when her "room" was graced with enough light – these moments in themselves were few and far between – they were most often draped in shadow. The mouth, the color of coal, slightly turned up at either side, suggested the wearer was continually pleased, constantly aware, and persistently one step ahead of his prey.

The last bit was extremely true, in this case.

He had given her only three rules to follow and she had broken all of them yesterday. Yet, how he sensed her disobedience, she did not know. All she knew now was quite simple: she was going to die literally at the hands of Amon.

Though she didn't think it possible, her head suddenly jerked farther back, the snapping of stiff bones breaking her thoughts.

_Just breathe… In… And out…_

He held her body in this position for what seemed like hours, not saying a word. She heard the wind pushing through the decaying tree bark, the soft chirping of the bluebird monkeys, and her own blood fighting to pulse through her body. Eventully, perhaps as a last resort, her hot-natured temper exploded.

"Say something!" she demanded. "Say something or just do it already!"

The only response she got was one of his hands gripping the back of her neck and the other hand gentling settling on her forehead, his thumb almost caressing the spot between her eyebrows.

Grunting from the sheer force of his hold on her, she managed to yell, "DO IT! Or I'll show you just how much I hate you!"

At this, he slowly leaned his head down to hers. For the first time since her abduction, she distinguished the true color of Amon's eyes from their shadowy enclave as he whispered, "Aki… I believe you."

She then felt his power surge through her from head to toe. As her limp form crumbled almost fittingly atop the crumbling autumn leaves, her final thought flitted through her mind:

_Wow, Amon. Your eyes look just like starlight…_

* * *

AN Part 2!

This chapter is just setting up the story. Don't ask me who Aki is. I have no idea. *shrug* I just needed a fall girl and looked up a list of firebender names. Anyway, the next theoretical chapter will shift to Korra.

Seriously, let me know what you think. I've never written anything like this before so I really have no understanding of its strengths or weaknesses.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Thanks to all of those who reviewed/followed/favorited Ch. 1! I didn't want to update this story until I had the whole thing written (abandoned stories are one of my biggest pet peeves). It's my first fanfic, so I pretty much had no idea what I was doing. Anyway, it is finished and I think I'll post two chapters per week. Feel free to offer suggestions. I might go back and edit a few things once the whole story is posted here since I didn't have a beta._

_Enough of my rambling! On with the show! Also, bonus points to anyone who guesses which 90s movie this is crossovered with. Some of the lines are verbatim in my fanfic, and the plot is quite similar, so it should become more apparent after a few chapters. I know at least one of you has seen this film and will recognize the pieces of my little Frankenstein monster._

_Only going to post this once for safe measure: clearly I do not own the sources. I'm merely smashing them together and playing in the resulting chaos._

* * *

Chapter 2 – Pieces of Eight

_~*~Two days later…~*~_

"Alright, let's try that again. Only this time Korra, make sure to square your feet – it'll strengthen your balance," Bolin instructed while demonstrating his earthbending pose.

It was early in the afternoon and Korra had been at the pro-bending arena's training gym since dawn. Though she knew and fully accepted that her bending would improve by accessing her spiritual side with Tenzin, it was just so much more fun to work out with Bolin and Mako. They had a nice system – pro-bending strategy for a few hours each morning, and then in the afternoon, they helped Korra further develop her earth and firebending. Right now, Bolin was taking Korra back to the basics, which she found tedious, despite begrudgingly acknowledging its usefulness to herself – she would never admit to something out loud for fear of inflating Bolin's ego.

"How are my feet _not_ squared," Korra spat back at Bolin as she gestured to the extremities in question.

Mako let out a chuckle from the corner of the gym where he was sitting with his girlfriend, Asami. Korra glared in their direction. She had no problem with the two dating – it was the apparent amusement Mako was currently deriving from Korra's training that irked her.

"Thank you for the support, Mako," Korra grumbled, still stubbornly keeping her feet as they were.

"I think you're doing great, Korra," Asami yelled across the gym.

Relaxing her stance, Korra gestured to Asami while barking at Bolin, "See? She thinks I'm doing great!"

"Ok… If you say so," Bolin dared. Before Korra could regain her "stance," Bolin fired two chunks of rock at her torso. She could only react fast enough to break one of the stones with a high kick, while the other smashed into her side, knocking her to the gym floor.

Another round of chuckling overpowered the sound of Korra's groan as she lifted herself from the floor, slapping away Bolin's proffered hand. Korra was ready to sling more sarcasm at Mako for laughing at her again, but she noticed both he and Asami were shooting daggers at the doorway.

"So, this the best the pro-bending tournament has to offer. Some skills you've got there, Avatar." Tahno's slimy voice pulled Korra's eyes to the entrance of the gym. The sleek-haired wonder stood with his posse, each one of them reeking of wasted elegance.

Tahno made his way over to Korra and Bolin, and coaxed in a smarmy tone, "You know, Avatar, you could always practice with me. I'm sure I could show you more… _moves_ than this lot."

Mako – who had moved towards his two teammates, essentially bookending Korra with Bolin on her opposite side – attempted to respond, "Korra's doing just fine—"

"You really think you could offer me anything beneficial," Korra asked, clinging to today's sarcastic theme. She could handle this slime on her own.

Tahno broke from his group, smoothly shifting towards the fuming Avatar. "Is it really that challenging a notion for you to accept with earth smeared on your face?" At this, Tahno shot his hand out, gripping Korra's chin. He only had time to make once swipe with his thumb, further smudging the dirt into Korra's cheek, before she slung a wave of water into Tahno's face. Gasping both from the shock of Korra's attack, he stumbled back into his groupies.

Glancing at Bolin, Korra saw her smirk was mirrored her teammate's face. Moving together, they both bended in tandem. The combined force of dirt and water splattered a sizeable dose of mud on Tahno and his entire company. Overcome with rage, Tahno realized only too late, that the Fire Ferret's third member had finished firing a small blaze just above Tahno's head.

Attempting to regain a small fraction of dignity, Tahno gloated, "Hah! Can't even manage a solid hit while we're down, firebender. Pathetic!"

As Tahno started to take a bending stance, Korra quipped, "I don't think he was necessarily aiming for your body, Slick."

As the Fire Ferrets collapsed into laughter, Tahno went to smooth his locks, only to realize that his mud-covered hair had solidified into spikey points, which were shooting out in at least a dozen wacky directions. Korra managed to blink her tear-filled eyes into a brief semblance of clarity to witness Tahno's reddened face quickly retreating with his team close behind. Those closest seemed to be offering him words of support, while those trailing the farthest behind were suppressing giggles of amusement at Tahno's most recent hair-related trauma.

"Now you'll really get what's coming, Avatar! I'd watch my back if I were you!" Tahno screeched before escaping the gym.

Despite being overcome with laughter, Bolin caught his breath long enough to utter three words: "That. Was. AMAZING!"

"How do you like my stance now?" Korra retorted, still not completely over her fit of giggles.

"I still think you could improve—"

Cutting off Mako for the second time today, Korra joked, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," before her stomach loudly gurgled.

"Ugh, I'm starved," she complained. Almost immediately Bolin's stomach loudly echoed Korra's. "I think we could all use some food," he suggested.

"Maybe that's why I've been slightly off my game this afternoon," Korra responded with an air of cool. "Yeah, that's got to be it."

"It would explain your overly feisty attitude, too," Mako offered, slapping his hand over Korra's shoulders.

"Hey! Who are you calling feisty?!" she pouted while taking a mock bending pose. Before she could take the joke further, her stomach let out another growl. Easing her stance and laughing, Korra admitted, "Ok, maybe it has been too long since my last meal. Who's down for an embarrassingly large lunch?"

Bolin jetted towards the door and Korra could barely make out his shout of, "YES! Let's goooo!" before he disappeared down the hallway with Pabu close behind.

"I think Mako and I are going to have an early dinner with my father tonight," explained Asami. "In fact, we should probably head back to the house now."

Mako placed his arm around Asami's waist as the three walked out of the gym. Once outside, Korra waved goodbye to the two lovers and crossed one of Republic City's busy streets alone. Instinctually, she headed towards Bolin's favorite noodle restaurant on her own, but a pair of silver eyes set their sights on Korra's built frame from afar.

_There you are. Later than usual, Avatar. What has kept you and your companion from your lunch today, I wonder._

The eyes watched Korra attempt to swipe a patch of dirt from her face with a shirtsleeve as she entered the restaurant. Before she disappeared into the darkness of the diner, Amon's blue-streaked silver eyes observed Korra as she failed to substantially remove any of the dirt from her face. The carelessness of such a powerful creature greatly amused him. Chuckling to himself, Amon faded into the darkness of the alleyway.

_Soon, my cavalier little Avatar. Soon…_

* * *

_~*~Later that afternoon…~*~_

Republic City's Chief of Police slammed her fist onto the desk with such force that a stack of papers floated to the floor.

"Eight! EIGHT girls have gone missing and you're telling me that we still don't have any significant leads?!" Lin Beifong bellowed.

Despite their excellent metalbending skills, the four men standing in front of the Chief visibly flinched at her outburst. Two men began sputtering nonsense, slurring together strings of police jargon; one stared intently at the toe of his boot, as if some earthshattering clue that would break the case was located on the bottom of his foot; and the last man, trying his best to appear brave, stared at a space of wall directly above Beifong's angry glare. The wall in question had become more and more busy over the past few weeks. At this particular moment, it would take a keen eye to distinguish its eight individual columns – photographs of the eight girls, their respective missing persons reports, and any tiny shreds of evidence the police force had gathered hung on the wall, blending together to form a massive collage. Yet, one thing was noticeably absent from the wall: a suspect.

There were, of course, persons of interest – family members, boyfriends, girlfriends, coworkers – but Beifong had personally cleared each one. None of them even remotely resembled a kidnapper of this caliber. The young women had been taken from their homes in the middle of the night, and the kidnapper left absolutely no evidence behind. More amazing still was that Beifong had failed to locate even one witness. It was slowly eating away at her.

"You two" – she yelled at her sputtering officers – "shut it, unless you actually have anything useful to say. Now, listen to me. We are not leaving this building until we comb through every one of these files, AGAIN. We are missing some piece of information and it's got to be in here somewhere. We are better than whatever piece of scum is taking this city's women and we will hunt him down. But first, we need a lead! Find it!"

Just as Beifong finished reprimanding her lackluster team, Councilman Tarrlok burst through the Chief's doors.

"Good afternoon, Chief Beifong," Tarrlok greeted.

He was met with an icy stare. "Afternoon, Councilman."

Tarrlok quickly glanced at the four nervous officers, and surmised, "Haven't furthered your investigation, I see." He always found it terribly easy to guess Beifong's progress on any task just by observing the body language of her officers. She had a terrible tendency of picking the twitchiest men on the force…

Dropping the formalities, Beifong seethed, "Can I help you with anything in particular? I am rather busy."

"Could you spare a _private_ moment?" the Councilman inquired.

Kindly releasing her officers from the ferocity of her gaze, she ordered them to take the missing girls' files into the next room. After they left, she waited a moment for Tarrlok to speak. However, he seemed to be completely lost in thought, and continued to stare at the wall of missing girls utterly ignorant of Beifong's impatience. Well, perhaps not ignorant, but definitely unconcerned.

"Well?" urged Beifong.

Still keeping his eyes on the wall, Tarrlok asked, "So, how exactly is the investigation—"

"You know exactly how the kidnappings are progressing—"

"_If_ you would let me continue, Chief Beifong," Tarrlok interjected, finally taking his eyes off the faces on the wall and meeting Beifong's glare with a well-practiced flip of his flawless hair. "I was inquiring about your tactical strategy against this Equalist movement. It appears that their leader, this Amon character, is rallying non-benders in huge numbers. We're seeing small attacks all over the city and the Republic Council believes it's time to go on the offensive." Taking note of Beifong's slightly unbalanced demeanor, Tarrlok added with a clever smirk, "Or have you not been reading the latest field reports?"

Admittedly, Beifong had put the growing Equalist revolution on the backburner for the sake of the recent string of kidnappings. She felt guilty for not giving the Equalists as much time, but now she felt worse because Tarrlok knew of her blatant prioritization.

Steadying herself, Beifong replied, "Though I have spent quite a lot of time on the kidnappings, I am quite aware of the most recent Equalist activities."

"You seem to be spreading yourself quite thin," Tarrlok remarked. "Perhaps you should delegate some of you duties. I would be willing to head up the kidnapping investigations for you. Then, you could focus all your time on Amon and the Equalists."

Tarrlok's offer appealed to Beifong's tired mind, but she wasn't quite so out of touch to ignore the possibility – and probability – of the Councilman's ulterior motives. He was a politician after all, and a skilled one at that.

Narrowing her eyes, Beifong retorted, "Why would I abandon the project I've been working on most closely?"

Tarrlok let out a small laugh. "I was simply trying to make your office run more efficiently. And, you even admitted to struggling—"

"I said no such thing—"

"In your own way, yes, you did," Tarrlok accused. He waited for Beifong to respond, but her silence told him all he needed to know. "If you tell me you really don't need help, then I'll leave your office and call your men back in."

Beifong held Tarrlok's gaze, knowing he was right. She did need help. She hadn't slept more than three hours a night since the second girl went missing and she was tired of feeling guilty about not giving the Equalist rebellion enough attention. But she would be damned if Tarrlok lead the investigation on the missing women.

"Fine," Beifong admitted. As Tarrlok's smile grew, she added, "You can head a task force to hunt down Amon and the Equalists. I can give you half my metalbenders and not one man more."

Even Tarrlok, the master politician, could not hide his disappointment in Beifong's decision. Schooling his emotions, he put on a grateful smile. "I think this will prove to substantially reduce the crime levels in the city, Chief Beifong. I'll inform you of my task force as soon as I've assembled my team."

Just as Tarrlok was making his way towards the door, Beifong's lieutenant entered the office. "Sorry, Chief. I didn't mean to interrupt," he apologized after noticing the councilman.

"No, it's fine. Councilman Tarrlok was just leaving. What can I do for you?"

"I was looking for the kidnapped girls' files. I was hoping to work on them at home tonight," he explained with a distinctly scratchy voice.

"Some of the officers have them in the next room," Beifong answered as her lieutenant turned to leave.

"I was just leaving – I'll walk out with you," Tarrlok said to the hooded lieutenant.

Beifong, already losing herself in the girls' faces on the wall, halfheartedly said goodbye. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning, Lieutenant Noatak."

As the two men exited Chief Beifong's office, Tarrlok risked a brief glace at his brother's face. Despite the shadow cast by Noatak's hood – as was the regulation uniform for a Republic City lieutenant – Tarrlok easily imaged the pale gleam in his brother's eyes meeting the icy blue of his own.

Tarrlok had failed to take over the kidnapping investigation, but at least Beifong was losing half her force to Tarrlok's "hunt" for Amon. It would take some convincing to make his brother see reason, but this could work for them. A few mock busts on Equalist cells across the city would appease the Chief and it would give Amon's movement time to rally.

Ever the politician, Tarrlok successfully twisted the situation in his favor.

_Yes, this could work out quite well, indeed._

* * *

_AN: Le gasp! Noatak is Beifong's most trusted officer?! Dude keeps busy. So many jobs and personas to keep up with… (I'll be interchanging Amon and Noatak depending on which persona he's using at the time. That seems the most sensible) Sidenote: I'm sorry for those of you that haven't seen the mysterious 90s movie before reading this, because I'm pretty much spoiling all the important plot points in my adaptation. Also, I love Tahno – I really do. I find him so adorable. I hope my nickname wasn't too forced. When I first watched LoK, I couldn't keep the characters' names straight, so I called him Slick for the longest time._

_Here's my fanfic Tumblr for those of you interested in such things: .com_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – "You're in my web now…"

_~*~The next morning…~*~_

"Korra! Korra! Wake up this instant!"

Korra buried her face deeper into the jumbled pile of pillows and comforters in the middle of her bed, trying her hardest to ignore Tenzin's booming voice.

_If I just get under these blankets, the noise will go away… Sleep…. Back to sleep…_

Unfortunately, a high-pitched voice rebounded off the walls of her modest bedroom. "FART BENDING WAKE UP CALL!"

Meelo landed where he assumed Korra's face was, and she was instantly grateful for the layers of bed sheets. Right now they were proving to be a fantastic barrier between her face and Meelo's routine morning flatulence. Throwing the blankets (and Meelo) across the room, Korra grunted as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Alright, alright! I'm up! What's the emergency?" Korra insisted as she watched Meelo airbend his way onto Tenzin's head.

The Airbending Master remained entirely unsympathetic and exceedingly unapologetic to Korra's abrupt wakeup. She honestly couldn't blame him, especially since Meelo was currently using Tenzin's head as a chair. No doubt he received a similar wakeup from his youngest son this morning, if not most mornings.

Placing his son on the floor and shooing him from the room, Tenzin said, "Korra, I've just received a call from Chief Beifong. She and some of her officers are headed towards the outskirts of Republic City. One of the kidnapped women was found in the woods early this morning. Chief Beifong thought that you, as the Avatar, should be informed. Should you so desire, she also invited you to come to the crime scene."

Beifong had intentionally kept Korra out of the loop until now, so her invitation to assist at the crime scene surprised the young woman. According to Tenzin, Beifong was more defiant than Korra, and stubbornly preferred to do most of her Chief of Police duties without help. Admittedly, Korra hadn't enthusiastically tried to join the investigation. Between her Avatar training and pro-bending, Korra found herself too exhausted to contribute enough energy toward the abductions. Still, Beifong's invitation spoke for itself – the situation must be dire…

"Wait… You said, 'crime scene.' So that means they found a body?" Korra inquired while sleepily rubbing her eyes.

Tenzin sighed. "I'm afraid so."

Something about Tenzin's confirmation sent a chill through Korra's body. She didn't know much about the case, but she remembered that all the kidnapped women were young, attractive, and powerful to some degree… No matter the state of her self-esteem, Korra knew she shared the missing girls' qualities and she couldn't shake the small reminder of her own vulnerability.

Korra grit her teeth and pushed the thought from her mind. "Ok, let's go."

* * *

After flying north of Republic City, Korra and Tenzin arrived at the crime scene. She hadn't even seen that much of the city, so she took a moment to observe the unfamiliar surroundings. When Korra dismounted Oogi's saddle, her feet crunched into the fall leaves. As she looked around, she noticed the snow-covered mountains a few miles away and was momentarily distracted by their icy beauty. She missed the snow and being encompassed by the cold, and unexpectedly felt a pang of homesickness.

The sound of other footsteps brought Korra back to the present. Chief Beifong was making her way towards the pair and their flying bison. "Hello, Tenzin! Good morning, Avatar Korra. I'm sorry your day is starting off here." She motioned for Tenzin and Korra to follow her. "It's not a terribly gruesome crime scene, but it appears that the victim, Aki, suffered as she was dying. She also went through quite the ordeal in the two weeks she was missing. Whoever is doing this is a twisted excuse for a human being."

Korra interrupted Beifong's diatribe. "What kind of ordeal exactly?"

If possible, Beifong steeled her face even more. "She was repeatedly chi blocked, given the deep-set bruises over her body. There also seems to be some"—Beifong paused before continuing—"to be some evidence of sexual violence, but we'll have to wait for a full autopsy to be certain."

Where Tenzin's message this morning had almost frozen Korra's nerves, Beifong's details of Aki's final moments set Korra's blood on fire. How could such a thing have happened – no, how could such a thing _still_ be happening? Reeling from Beifong's account of Aki's death, Korra found herself thinking about the other seven girls who were still missing. Why hadn't they found them yet? Where their bodies somewhere out here, too?

Determinedly Korra asked, "What can I do to help? I'm completely at your disposal."

"Let me take you to the body. Let's see if you can spot anything my team hasn't. Spirits know they're more agitated than usual…" Beifong answered.

Tenzin remained silent as the three weaved through the forest's small trees. He had recently come to accept pro-bending as a complimentary teaching method for Korra's Avatar training. Since then, he tried to be more open-minded regarding Korra's exposure to the inherent dangers of Republic City. Though this wasn't anything close to pro-bending, the shifting climate of the city brought forth more severe tribulations and hiding Korra from these trials wouldn't do her any good. Furthermore, she was the Avatar – it was her duty to bring balance to the world. She needed to face these horrors, but she didn't have to do so alone. He walked closer to Korra.

"Korra, if this is too much for you, we can always work from Chief Beifong's office or Air Temple Island if that's more comfortable," Tenzin offered.

She considered Tenzin's suggestion, but politely declined and continued to follow Beifong through the trees. As they got closer to the site, Beifong's police force came into view. Korra noticed they had sectioned off the area around the girl's body. She watched as several officers alternated between jotting down notes and discussing the scene, while a couple took photographs. Though everyone was working around the body, their mere movements made Aki seem even more… well, dead.

Korra couldn't help but fixate on the girl. She was face down, her head deep in a pile of leaves, but her lower half was elevated.

_She died while on her knees…_

The realization sent Korra thinking of dark images full of helplessness and submission, and the unconsciously straightened her shoulders. The position of Aki's arms was the most hideous part of the scene. They were almost absentmindedly scattered at her sides, unbound and bent at abnormal angles.

_The killer didn't even bind her hands. Did he have no reason to confine Aki's arms? Beifong did say she was repeatedly chi blocked… How broken down was she by the end? Could she not even fight back?_

Beifong's briefing brought Korra back to reality.

"Aki was the heiress of a popular chain of tea houses in Republic City, but she didn't just accept her inheritance. She was quite active in her family's business and she briefly fought in some pro-bending matches a couple years ago. She was strong, both in body and character, but there are no signs that she physically fought her attacker – not one defensive mark anywhere on her. Furthermore, there are no physical signs of a fatal injury on the body, suggesting the killer used some kind of internal weapon – we'll run blood tests for any chemical agents or poisons when we get her body back to headquarters. You'll also notice that there are no marks on her wrists, besides the chi blocking bruises, suggesting that her arms were unbound—"

Taking her cue, Korra interrupted, "Isn't that a little bizarre for this kind of situation? I mean, why wouldn't the killer keep her arms tied?"

Beifong looked into Korra's eyes for a moment, surprised at her well-placed question. "Yes, it is strange. But this is the first kidnapped girl that's shown up, so we don't have a lot to compare it to. We're still working on the killer's profile. At this point, we can only speculate about that particular detail."

Korra stared at Aki's collapsed form, trying to reach a light meditative state. While Beifong and Tenzin moved to the other side of the body, Korra stood still and attempted to call forth some kind of spiritual guidance. If there was ever a time for her to reach into her past lives for help, this was it. Before any spiritual force came to Korra's aid, she couldn't help but be distracted by a flash of silver. Though she was focusing on Aki's motionless form, another stationary body came into view. Where all of Beifong's officers – even Tenzin and the Chief herself – were shifting around the crime scene, there was one man standing completely still.

The man seemed to use the early morning light to his advantage, choosing to lean against the side of a tree that the sharp angle of the rising sun had cast in shadow. Now that she noticed him, Korra was surprised she had seen him at all. The police force's uniforms were dark, and if it weren't for the shine on his silver metal boots, she probably would have remained ignorant of his existence. Now that she knew he was there, Korra strained her eyes to actualize the hidden figure into a substantial form.

As if reading her mind, the man pushed himself from the tree. As he walked through fractions of sunlight and shadow, Korra noticed he wore a lengthy hood that covered the entirety of his face. Before she realized it, the man had quickly made his way over to Korra in a small number of strides. The hooded figure offered his hand and introduced himself. "Avatar Korra, I'm Lieutenant Noatak. I work on Chief Beifong's Police Force."

Something about him unnerved her. Korra's eyes jetted from his hand to where she imaged his eyes were underneath his hood. Not seeing another way to react, she slowly took Noatak's hand and replied with an awkward, "Hi."

Using the span of their handshake to gather her nerves, Korra mentally took a bending pose that her body surely reflected, albeit on a milder scale. Going on the offensive, Korra asked the lieutenant, "So, did you find any evidence by leaning on a tree far from the crime scene or did Beifong just order you to take a break in the shade?"

Noatak calmly responded, "Not that my investigative practices are any of your business, but I sometimes find it useful to observe things from afar. It allows me to focus on the important aspects of a scene without having to listen to the twitching and buzzing from all of Beifong's little worker bees."

Despite her defensive attitude towards the lieutenant, she found herself agreeing with Noatak's approach. Was her attempted meditation not similar to his distanced observation?

Before Korra could give it any more thought, Beifong interjected the pair's conversation. "Lieutenant, any updates?"

Noatak quickly answered, "Nothing solid yet. We really need to get the body back to the forensic pathologist at headquarters."

"I thought as much," the Chief acknowledged. "Well, if you're ready to go, Korra, then we can head back into the city. I'd like to brief you on the investigation thus far."

Noatak cut off Korra before she could get out a single word and ignored her subsequent glare, complete with furrowed brows and pouty lips. "Chief, I don't think we need to involve the Avatar in a case like—"

"Chief Beifong! Chief Beifong!" shouted one the woman's metalbenders who was quickly running towards the group.

Signaling the young man over, she yelled, "What is it, Officer?"

Korra didn't know if the man was nervous or simply winded, but he had a hard time getting his message out clearly. When he composed himself, he finally relayed his news.

"We just got word from the station. Another girl was taken last night. Her name is Asami Sato."

* * *

_AN: Dun dun DUN!_

_I don't know why, but I love the idea of Beifong's metalbenders being nervous around her. That chick is rough, man. Even her officers quake in their wee boots… Title is from "The Recluse" by Cursive._

_Things really pick up in the next chapter..._


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Thank you so much for the reviews. Shout out to I'mNotGoodAtThis: Thanks for sticking with the story from the beginning. I felt kind of bad for causing what seemed like severe fanfic trauma (judging by your most recent review), but then I laughed like a crazed villain. I think you're giving me far too much power. =)_

_The second part of this chapter is my favorite so far. That is all._

* * *

Chapter 4 – "The Hole in Me"

_~*~Two days later…~*~_

"Mako, I know you're worried, but you've got to try to get some sleep."

The firebender responded to Korra's plea by simply continuing to pace, an activity that was pushing into its fourth consecutive hour. Korra would be surprised if Mako's small circular trail around the pro-bending gym didn't leave permanent marks on the floor. Still, who was she to tell Mako how to act in this situation? She tried to understand how he was feeling, but couldn't wrap her head around the emotions. Whatever she was feeling about Asami seemed so insignificant compared to Mako's anguish. After failing to empathize with him, Korra became lost in her own thoughts…

_What kind of person could do this to so many women? How many family members and friends around Republic City are in Mako's shoes? Is the suffering of the families worse than what the victims are going through?_

Her mind was spinning. She was terrified for the kidnapped women and after spending the past two days with Beifong, Korra had developed a great sense of responsibility for the case's outcome. On top of that, Tarrlok asked Korra to be a part of his task force against the Equalist movement the day before. She didn't feel right turning him down, even though she suspected Tarrlok had his own reasons for recruiting Korra that did not involve squashing the rebellion. But now she hardly had a moment to herself. Her head was full of Tarrlok's attack plans and Tenzin's incessant air bending instructions. It had gotten to the point where the blood roaring in Korra's ears distinctly sounded like Beifong's fists slamming onto her desk.

Mako's pacing was the last straw on Korra's sanity and she snapped, "Oh, would you just sit down for two minutes?!"

Her voice echoed off the gym walls and Korra instantly felt terrible. Before she could even utter an apology, Mako quickly crossed the floor and pulled Korra into a tight embrace. She was amazed at his ability to forgive her slip. As she closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms, she felt another body crash into the pair and knew without looking up that Bolin had joined in.

"Thanks, guys. I'm so glad to have you here," Korra mumbled through the various layers of clothing into which her face was currently smashed.

As the team untangled themselves, Bolin asked, "Are you sure there's nothing more we can do? Surely the Police Force is feeling the strain of the kidnappings and the rebellion."

"I thought the same thing," Korra explained, "but Beifong doesn't want too many people to have access to the case details. Plus, I don't think she wants persons of interest—"

Korra mentally slapped her hand to her forehead. Apparently she would continue to verbally embarrass herself today. How how HOW did she manage to bring up the fact that Beifong called Mako into the station as a potential suspect just the day before? Korra knew Mako had nothing to do with the kidnapping, but he was the last person to see Asami the night she was taken. He didn't deny this, but Hiroshi Sato's servants seemed all too eager to supply witness statements recounting every detail of seeing Mako with Asami that night. Strangely none of the servants remembered Mako leaving the estate.

Korra tried to recover from her unfortunate faux pas. "Mako, no one thinks you're responsible for the kidnappings. I told you, Beifong had to call you in, but it was just a formality to clear you from the suspect pool."

Mako faked a smile and sighed. "I know. But it doesn't get me any closer to finding her." He ran a hand through his hair and turned towards the door. "I'm, um… I'm going to go for a walk."

"I'll go with you! I can't stay cooped up in this gym any longer," Bolin chimed in, gathering Pabu in his arms.

Korra agreed as she lightly jogged to catch up with the brothers. "I think we could all use some fresh air."

Just as the group reached the doorway, they came face to face with two of Beifong's officers who had just rounded the corner.

"Ah. Avatar Korra. Chief Beifong wishes to speak with you. If you would please come with us…," one of the officers said, gesturing towards the doorway.

Korra looked to her teammates and gave an apologetic pout.

"Korra," Mako comforted, "it's fine. Just try to give yourself a little downtime today, ok?" The noticeable concern etched on Mako's face truly touched her and she was amazed by the capacity of his sympathy.

"Avatar Korra, we really must be going," the other officer reminded.

While the metalbenders lead the way out of the pro-bending arena, Korra graced her teammates with an exaggerated eye roll. With the exception of the time it would take to travel from the gym to the station, Korra doubted she would relax at all today. Once out of the building, Korra and the two officers turned left towards downtown while Mako and Bolin hung a right. Before they were too far away, she yelled back to her boys. "Hey, what do you say to a little practice session tomorrow morning? Maybe getting back into our routine will do us all some good."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Bolin replied. "See you tomorrow morning!" Though they were allegedly going on a walk, Korra saw Bolin race directly to the open window of a food truck parked on the corner.

The promise of working out with Mako and Bolin tomorrow offered Korra some relief, and she allowed herself a small smile despite the present state of things. She suddenly felt a break in the case was imminent, especially with the hours she worked at the station over the past couple days. And it's not like Beifong's team was slacking; quite the contrary, most of her men hadn't gone home in days, choosing to take small naps at their desks or on vacant floor spaces instead. Maybe they would get a break in the case this afternoon. She accepted this new, hopeful feeling and decided to let it influence the rest of her day.

_Yes, today something will break_.

Little did Korra know that the man watching her from an alleyway cast in shadow was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

It was past midnight when Korra got back to Air Temple Island. She and Beifong pored over the case files for hours and still hadn't come up with any new leads. The kidnapper clearly knew what he was doing. He left the Police Force so little to work with and it had only managed to piss off Korra. She would have stayed at the station all night, but Beifong sent her home after Korra started pounding her fists more than the Chief did. If they pulled an all-nighter downtown together, at least one of Beifong's officers would have suffered a stress-induced heart attack.

Of course, all of the victims' lives meant something, but as far as the Republic City government was concerned, Asami was the most important – no doubt because her father was so crucial to the city's financial structure. Korra was surprised Beifong hadn't cracked under the pressure, especially with all those higher-ups breathing down her neck all day, demanding results and hourly updates on the investigation.

After climbing the few steps onto the dormitory porch, Korra removed her boots, rounded the corner, and then crept down the hallway on stealthy tiptoes, not wanting to wake the others. Conscious of Tenzin's sleeping family, Korra stifled the urge to slam her fist onto every horizontal surface on which she set her sights. Despite her relatively positive start to the day, her last shred of optimism seemed long gone now. How were they every going to catch the kidnapper? And what hope did they have of finding the girls before they wound up dead in the woods? Then a darker thought overtook Korra's mind: What if they were already dead? Were their bodies just waiting to be found?

Trying to drive this thought from her mind, Korra considered a theory brought up by one of Beifong's detectives earlier that day. He pointed out that the abductions had no pattern – they were all random. Furthermore, Aki wasn't even among the first women who were taken and her body was placed near a fairly busy hiking spot.

_"So he wanted her body to be found?" Korra asked while trying not to spill her sixth cup of tea on Beifong's desk._

_"Think about it. He's clever enough to abduct them without leaving any clues, but he practically presented Aki's body to us on a silver platter," Detective Haru explained._

_"It could be some kind of power play. He already knows he's got us stumped with the abductions. Maybe he's taking it to the next level," offered Beifong._

_"Yes, but more than that, I think he wanted to humiliate her. Break her down somehow." The detective got out of his chair and stretched his back before gesturing to the victim wall. "Look at these girls. They're amazing! Every last one of them. Exquisite inside and out…" Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. "I think he's collecting them. Showing them that he can have and willfully destroy what every other man in this city can't even dream of possessing." _

_Detective Haru's last word rang in Korra's head. Aki's autopsy results showed muscle paralysis from the chi blocking and horrifying evidence of sexual assault. Her death was caused by a severe stroke; the blood had just stopped flowing to the brain. Probably from sheer trauma, Korra thought. He really was trying to tear these women apart. Though it was terrifying to consider, it was better than imagining eight bodies scattered throughout the woods… Wasn't it?_

Successfully working herself into a near frenzied state, Korra knew she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. She reached out for Naga, but given the size of both the polar bear dog and her room, she quickly realized that Naga must still be outside. Korra made her way outside the room and back down the hallway. She was always amazed at how comforting her companion was. Naga was a great source of strength and a fantastic tracker. Maybe they could look through the woods tomorrow.

Once on the porch, Korra paused and leaned against the wood railing. She tried to let the chilly night breeze calm her down. Ever since coming to Air Temple Island, she'd taken advantage of the milder climate every night by sleeping with her windows open. Compared to the Southern Water Tribe, Republic City was practically tropical and the wind soothed her to sleep every night. Tenzin should be proud of her! She was trying to connect with the air in hopes of centering herself! She started to chuckle at the thought, but her small laugh was cut off by a heavy scraping sound coming from the other side of the porch.

_Was Naga dragging a tree branch? Maybe she's digging too close to the porch and her paws are hitting the wood?_

Walking toward the sound to investigate, Korra strained her eyes through the dark. She stopped at the corner of the porch and peered around the other side. Though it was the middle of the night, she could easily spot Naga's pale coat from a distance, and her friend was definitely out of sight. Korra decided to wait out Naga a while longer on the porch – her polar bear dog couldn't get into that much trouble on the island and Korra was in no hurry.

As she returned to her previous spot against the railing, Korra caught a slight movement in the corner of her eye. Whipping her head to the side, Korra's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and confusion: the laces of her boots were tied together and swinging from one of the porch rafters.

_What the hell?!_

She shakily inhaled an unsteady breath before a pair of strong arms encircled Korra's body from behind, one arm crushing around her torso and the other covering her mouth. She instinctually tried to free her arms, but the attacker was so much stronger. Her assailant quickly forced her forward, violently smashing her into the porch railing. Korra wanted to scream, both in pain and panic, but seeming to anticipate this, the hand over her mouth gripped her face tighter. She was trapped between the porch and what felt like a 6-foot block of muscle behind her!

_Come on, Korra! You've fought worse than this before! All you need to do is free your arms, then he'll get what's coming! Just one hit. One hit and then run!_

Tapping into her skilled fighting instincts, Korra swiftly made a fist with one hand – having a significant amount of practice with the same movement earlier that day, it came almost naturally – and then, gripping her fist with the other hand, shoved her elbow into her attacker's stomach. She felt her arm land between his ribs, and she was rewarded with the sound of his pained grunt against her ear.

_Hah! He isn't invincible! Now move!_

She didn't have much time to relish the sound. Korra's strike caused him to loosen his hold on her body, which was all she needed to twist away.

Deftly pulling out of his grip, she sprinted around the corner of the porch. Just as she turned, she risked a glace over her shoulder, but saw no one following her. Looking forward a second too late, Korra missed the logs that had been strategically placed on the porch steps, and as her foot landed, she lost her balance. Korra's feet flew out from beneath her and the base of her skull struck the edge of one of the stairs with a resounding _thud!_ Stunned by the blow, she slid down the steps and landed on her back at the base of the porch.

She floated between consciousness and unconsciousness, but fought to stay awake. Her head throbbed and she felt a warm liquid pool beneath her head and upper back. The fall knocked the air from Korra's lungs and she struggled to catch her breath, while blinking rapidly in hopes of correcting her trauma-induced double vision. If she could stay awake, she could catch her breath, and then she could focus her eyes. And then she could get away. Her flight impulses were blaring like a siren! She needed to get away! She tried to lift her head, but the wave of nausea that ambushed Korra's senses only allowed her to gasp in pain.

Though she was still seeing double, a figure moved into her line of sight. Having barely caught her breath, she sputtered as the attacker descended the steps with ease, slowly approaching her. His white mask shone in the dim moonlight and Korra saw him tilt his face to the side in dark curiosity. He looked like he was pondering a small, defenseless animal. She felt like a butterflymoth with a broken wing, waiting to be tortured by some merciless child. Terror stirred in the pit of her stomach, but she managed to utter a few words.

"What—What do you… want from me?!"

The assailant knelt down beside Korra's face and her dazed eyes finally recognized the mask. The overly white paint set off the bright red circle on the forehead. It was Amon! As she gasped, Amon whispered his answer: "Everything."

He placed one of his hands around Korra's throat, gently moving his thumb across her skin. She shuttered away from the contact, but suddenly, Korra felt her body go rigid. She couldn't move! And then, she soon realized, she couldn't breathe!

_How is this happening?! He's barely touching me! Oh, spirits, he's touching me! I can't breathe and he's touching me! Why can't I breathe?!_

Eyes wide, she futilely struggled for air and as she lost consciousness, Korra felt like horror was slowly devouring her.

* * *

_AN: Chapter title from "The Hole in Me" by Blackfield._

_Yes, I did add a little (haha) "Stranger Than Fiction" reference in this chapter because I love that movie. So there._

_Also, no lie, I had the Wikipedia entry on "Anaconda" (the animal, not the movie) open as I was writing this. Blood carries oxygen to the brain, so if Amon is a blood bender, he can surely asphyxiate someone, yeah? Yeah. Ok. Anyway, I liked to think of him as an anaconda for some reason. Here's an appropriate quote from the movie: "They strike, wrap around you, hold you tighter than your true love, and you get the privilege of hearing your bones break before the power of embrace causes your veins to explode." Nothing to see here, people! I REGRET NOTHING._


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Vague noncon-ish things, ahoy!_

* * *

Chapter 5 – "You're with Casanova now."

Korra struggled to open her eyes. She didn't realize before now that it could physically hurt to move her eyelids. When she worked them open, the view barely changed – darkness surrounded her. Blinking a few times, she tried to assess her current situation. She was lying down on what felt like a rather comfortable bed. Though the mattress was slightly old and springy, the blankets and pillows felt and smelled like the ones in her room on Air Temple Island…

But she wasn't on Air Temple Island.

Her skin buzzed with tension. Where was she and how did she get here? Her mind felt sluggish, and though she tried to recall her most recent memories, they slipped away. What had happened to her? She realized the base of her skill was throbbing. Had she struck her head on something? A concussion could explain the memory loss.

_Oh, spirits! Could head trauma cause blindness?! Am I blind?!_

A whimper of panic gurgled from her throat. Then in the corner of her eye, Korra saw a flicker of brightness. She turned towards the muted light and from the silhouette it cast, Korra could make out a wooden door. The entrance in question creaked open and a slender figure made its way into the room.

Korra couldn't hold her eyes open any longer. Hoping to alleviate the strain, she briefly clenched her lids together. When she opened them, Amon was sitting directly beside her bed, the shadowed eyes behind his pale mask burning holes into Korra. Her body twitched from the shock, and she was met with what felt like daggers shooting through her muscled form. She groaned in protest. He must have chi blocked her before she woke up.

"Shhh," Amon's deep voice cooed. "Try not to move. Your body's been through quite a lot in the past few hours. Best not to further exhaust yourself." His voice was deep, yet soft. Korra had only briefly heard a recording of Amon speaking at one of his rallies; she knew he had the power and charisma to capture a large audience. But now, with that same voice focusing solely on her… She felt paralyzed, and it had nothing to do with the chi blocking.

Suddenly, flashes of Amon attacking Korra ran through her mind, but they moved too quickly. Every time she came close to remembering the exact details, they faded away. What was wrong with her? What happened? How did she get here?

"What did you do to me?" she demanded, her quivering voice reflecting her state of bewilderment.

"I took you," responded Amon with a tilt of his masked face, as if surprised how the simple concept had escaped her.

"No, you bastard, that's not what I—"

Amon shot one of his hands to her throat, but didn't apply any pressure. The threat of pain set Korra on edge and immediately silenced her. What was he doing? Furthermore, the strangely intimate touch utterly disturbed her. Was this one of his power plays that Beifong had mentioned?

"I know what you meant and I'm not going to answer it. The simple truth is that you are with me now. I've watched you for a long time, Korra, and I'm so glad—" he began stroking her neck with the backs of his fingers "—that you're finally here."

The sound of her name on his lips sent a chill down her spine. The possibility of being strangled didn't comfort her much either.

"You…you've been watching me?!" She whispered her outrage, trying her best not to push her throat any closer to Amon's hand. Korra's effort went unrecognized by him, who continued to lightly trace the contours of her neck.

"Oh, yes. You know, despite your wild spirit, you're a very routined individual, Korra," said Amon, who sounded like he was sharing an amusing anecdote at a party.

Korra couldn't hide her shock. How could Amon have been spying on her? How could she not have noticed?! And her name, her name… She wanted him to stop saying her name. Despite its smoothness, his voice made her name rattle with menace and something else… fascination? Affection? Her heartbeat quickened in fear.

Reading her expression, Amon scolded, "No, it's flattering!" His sudden outburst made her jump, but just as quickly, he returned to his soft tone. "Korra, you are… very special. I think you could be the best." He slowly slid his hand down Korra's throat, hesitating for a moment to trace her collarbone, only to continue his journey to her chest. Though Korra was clothed, she could practically feel Amon's skin on her breasts. He weaved his hand down to her muscled abs, only to approach her chest again. Cupping the underside of her breast, Amon dragged his thumb over her nipple.

His appreciative sigh stirred Korra's defense mechanisms. Trying to put the pain out of her mind, Korra quickly reached out and grabbed Amon's hand. Before she could twist his wrist to inflict some meager amount of pain, Amon had struck her arm on an already bruised pressure point. She screamed and clutched her arm to herself, feeling the agony of repeated chi blocking in such a short span of time.

Forcefully covering her mouth, Amon growled, "Now, listen to me Korra because I'm only going to say this once: You. Belong. To. Me. However, if you try to fight me again, if you so much as think of escaping, I will destroy you. Do you understand?"

Korra felt like she'd frozen to the bed. She'd heard rumors of Amon having some great power, but the reality of her situation didn't hit Korra until this moment. His command, though oozing with anger, still maintained his unwavering control. He knew what he was doing… Amon's anger seemed to light a spark behind his eyes, sending silver shards gleaming through the openings in his mask.

"Nod." Amon ordered.

Though Korra shuddered more than nodded, it seemed to appease him nonetheless. She knew she was in no condition to fight him. If she was going to make it out of this, Korra had to choose her timing carefully. Right now, she just needed to make it through this and hope that he left soon.

"I don't expect you will fight me again, but this will become part of our own little routine, nonetheless," he continued, his voice melting away from anger and back into dark concern.

"What will become—"

Ignoring Korra's unfinished question, Amon's hands shot forward, each one piercing an array of points over her body. Suddenly Korra realized why Aki's hands were unbound – she couldn't move her arms at all, much less bend, without pain rocking through her body! Amon muffled Korra's shriek of pain with one hand, while the other stroked her face, thumbing away the tears that were flowing into her hair. Once her yell dulled to a quiet whimper, he fisted a chunk of Korra's hair while gently outlining her mouth with his fingertips.

"I know, I know," he soothed, "but you'll get used to it. I know you will. I know you'll be the best, Korra. I know you will."

Korra felt beyond helpless. She couldn't keep up with him. How did he shift from rage to concern to this…this deranged rambling so quickly? Were they all within him simultaneously, and he was simply rotating which side to feature. Were they all masks that Amon wore? How was she going to get away from him alive? She didn't know yet, but she also didn't want to know how many other masks he had. She had to get out. She would get out.

"This part won't hurt, I promise."

One of Amon's hands gathered Korra's arms together and despite her grunts of protest, he pinned them above her head. His other hand brushed over Korra's face, grazing over her lips and nose until she felt his thumb on an eerily familiar place on her forehead.

Why did she recognize this gesture? Had he done this to her before? Bracing herself for some variant of chi blocking, Korra thickly gasped when she felt the cold porcelain of Amon's mask against her cheek. Using her face to raise his mask just enough to expose his mouth, Amon placed a series of kisses on Korra's jawline. She tried to shift away, wishing she could disappear into the mattress. He hoisted himself onto her sore frame, effectively holding her in place by straddling her hips.

As he trailed down to a rather sensitive spot on her neck, Korra gulped louder than she would have liked. Her nervous tick did not go unheard by Amon, who nuzzled into her throat in response. Unable to resist the feeling of Korra's body beneath him, he ground his now firm erection into the apex of her thighs. He could smell the fear gushing off her in waves and it was intoxicating. Her wide-eyed stare only strengthened his desire to possess her. He needed to completely overpower her, needed to tear her to pieces, and desired more than anything to roll around in the shrapnel of Korra's destruction.

Suddenly he realized the effect she was having on him. His girls didn't normally work him up this quickly. He would have to keep himself in check around Korra. Determined to maintain his power, his control, his dominance, Amon snaked his hand between their bodies, pressing into her clit as he bit the inside of Korra's arm.

A weakened, animal-like whine bubbled through Korra's throat. Satisfied that he had demonstrated his control, Amon whispered against Korra's ear. "Don't worry. You need your rest. Goodnight, my little Avatar."

She felt his hand on her head again, and then a surge of power poured through her forehead. Before the feeling reached her legs Korra had passed out.

Once her unconscious head lolled to the side, Amon rose from Korra's sleeping form while readjusting his mask. He wanted to take her, badly, but he preferred to let the anticipation eat away at them first. Amon pushed away thoughts of driving himself into Korra, taking her apart from the inside, unrelenting in his onslaught. He needed to focus. Though he was intensely proud of the newest addition to his collection, her notorious stubbornness concerned him. True, he enjoyed breaking them down (especially the strong ones), he knew Korra would require a more forceful hand up front, or she would easily usurp his power early on. And that was simply out of the question.

He sighed as he closed Korra's door behind him. Amon really didn't want to have to kill his little Avatar. At least, not before he'd had his fun.

* * *

_~*~Later that day…~*~_

"This hardly seems unusual. Would you really claim one of the girl's defining characteristics is responsibility?"

"Would you really claim to know Korra better than I, Councilman Tarrlok? I'm telling you, something is not right. Korra would never wander off without telling someone where she was going, if not me then she would surely tell her friends. She was supposed to train with her pro-bending teammates this morning and they haven't seen or heard from her all day! Furthermore, her bed was completely stripped. What irresponsible act of rebellion requires pillows and blankets, Councilman?"

Tarrlok scoffed at Tenzin rebuttal. "I still refuse to sacrifice the progress of my task force by giving you charge of half my men! You want to find the Avatar? Release her polar bear dog! No doubt the beast could easily find her owner's scent and lead you to her far faster than my officers. Her stink is quite… recognizable," Tarrlok said through his wrinkled and upturned nose.

"Alright, enough!" Beifong interrupted. "First off, Councilman Tarrlok, those are still _my_ men and I will distribute them as I see fit. Secondly, Councilman Tenzin, I take your opinion of Avatar Korra seriously. But, does her absence really require such a dire response? She hasn't even been "missing" for one day – I saw her only last night."

Taking a deep, calming breath, Tenzin explained, "I understand your concerns. And believe me, I'm aware that Korra and I have not been on the best terms. However, she wouldn't just abandon her teammates. Something is wrong! And, though this may sound even more extreme"— Beifong saw Tenzin glimpse at the faces of the kidnapped victims on the wall behind her desk—"I think she may have been…taken."

Beifong's steely glare met Tenzin's silently powerful eyes. She tried to ignore the impulse, but she had actually been suppressing the same theory from the moment Tenzin reported the girl missing a few hours before. The kidnapper had a very distinct type for his victims; strong, beautiful, rebellious even. Korra fit the description to a T. Beifong had accepted the kidnapper's cunning, but now, if Korra was the latest victim… How formidable was this predator?

"If we are to believe that Korra has been taken"—at this, Tarrlok threw up his arms in an overdramatic gesture of annoyance and let loose an equally theatrical sigh—"then we are dealing with a highly powerful attacker, one that I feel I've underestimated. Therefore, I think we should make finding this killer our primary objective—"

"If you think I'm just going to abandon my task force, you are sorely mistaken, Beifong. I don't care if I have to take this up with the entire United Republic Council—"

"On the contrary, Councilman Tarrlok, I would like you to shift your task force's attention to the kidnappings," Beifong corrected.

Tarrlok's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he tried to quickly recover. "Well… Well then…"

"You've managed to subdue quite a few Equalist cells the past two days, Councilman. I like the work you and your task force have done, and I think your team would be equally efficient in hunting down the killer. I'll coordinate plans with you in a moment." Beifong then turned her attention to Tenzin, and Tarrlok used the opportunity to sneak out of the Chief's office. "Tenzin, you're more than welcome to assist our search, but I think you should keep this in mind: you're emotionally engaged with this investigation. I know you want to find Korra, but I would suggest heading up your own search, one that focuses more on what happened to Korra last night and less on actually searching for her. Could you really handle stumbling upon, spirits forbid, Korra's body in the woods?"

Tenzin momentarily regarded the wall of victims. Taking an unsteady breath he answered, "No, I don't think I could, Lin."

Outside Beifong's office, Tarrlok pressed his ear against her door, listening to the conversation inside.

"Perhaps you could recruit Korra's pro-bending teammates to aid in your inquiry. They were quite persistent about searching for the Sato girl, and helping you on Air Temple Island wouldn't interfere with my search." Tenzin silently considered this as Beifong continued. "Tarrlok did bring up a good point: What about Naga? Could my officers use her to track down Korra?" Beifong suggested.

"No, we haven't been able to find Naga anywhere on Air Temple Island. Jinora thought she heard Naga barking late last night…"

Tarrlok didn't need to hear anymore. He strutted down the hallway, his long strides promptly carrying him a darkened enclave in one of the station's infrequently used corridors.

"Well," a deep voice rumbled through the shadows, "what is their great plan of action?"

Tarrlok smiled. "Beifong is refocusing her attention on us," he laughed.

His brother hissed, "And what about this do you find so hilarious?"

"I'm sorry, I should have been more specific. She is sending her _entire_ force on the hunt for the missing girls, with yours truly as task force leader." Tarrlok took advantage of Noatak's shocked silence and continued to gloat. "Now, with you, Lieutenant, 'taking orders' from Beifong and me sending her men to all the wrong places, she'll never find the cabin."

"This does greatly benefit the revolution. We can carry on unchecked now—"

"See," Tarrlok interrupted, slapping his brother playfully on the back, "everything is working out fine—"

"—but it still does not make up for your appalling decision to take the Sato girl!" snarled Noatak. "Thanks to you, her father is now funding overtime for every officer in Republic City. Are there really so few women left in the city that you had to pick the most valuable one?!"

With a perfectly executed eye roll, Tarrlok quipped, "Says the man who kidnapped the Avatar. Besides, I paid off Sato's servants. I covered my bases."

At this, Noatak went on the defensive. "The Avatar was getting too involved in the investigation! It would only be a matter of time before she and that mutt of hers found the cabin."

Ever the politician, Tarrlok quickly tore apart his brother's justification. "Don't bullshit me, brother. You were watching the Avatar far before Beifong recruited her. Admittedly, she is a beautiful thing, but what's got you so… enchanted?" He truly hadn't seen Noatak like this before. His brother had fine taste in women, but Tarrlok couldn't understand how one deserved as much time as Noatak had given Korra. Even for their strange little hobby, this was bizarre.

"She's not like the others… she's different… so powerful." A small grunt escaped Noatak's lips. "Though, I suppose you've got a point. Maybe we should focus on more low-profile women in the future," he admitted with a resigned shrug.

"Agreed. So, if you'd like to take advantage of Beifong's new priorities, I'll cover for you while _Amon_ makes his appearances tonight," Tarrlok offered while brushing some barely noticeable dust from his brother's shoulder.

"Thank you. I'm assuming you're going to have a late evening?"

Tarrlok replied with a swift nod.

"Then I'll be sure to look after your darlings until you arrive," Noatak said, his smooth voice dripping with desire.

Tarrlok recognized his brother's shift in persona and it greatly unnerved him. Though Tarrlok couldn't make out his brother's face in the dark, he could hear the smile in Noatak's voice. "Not too closely, I hope…" the politician warned. Despite sharing a hiding place for their collection, each man was quite possessive of their own women.

Noatak's lightly laughed. "Oh, I doubt I'll have the time. I think I'll be sufficiently occupied with my newest edition. Breaking down my little Avatar is going to take awhile."

* * *

_AN: Tarrlok totally struts. I really like the relationship between him and Noatak. They are both skilled as masking (hah) their emotions, but they both lose their tempers. I like to think they balance each other out, each alternating between calm/controlled and well, generally growly. Speaking of growly, I really love Steve Blum's voice… Great, now I want to watch some Cowboy Bebop. *sigh* A fangirl never rests._

_Also, I liked the mirror image of Korra and Tenzin. Both had the choice to charge into the gruesomeness of the kidnappings or remain on Air Temple Island, and they made different choices. Poor Tenzin. =( _


	6. Chapter 6

_AN: I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow evening, but I'm avoiding my thesis like the plague! Don't tell my committee members..._

* * *

Chapter 6 – "Help I'm Alive"

_~*~Later that day…~*~_

Korra awoke with a start, which sent a jolt of pain through her bruised body. Remembering that Amon was holding her captive pained her even more. Gritting her teeth, she managed to raise her head a few inches off the pillow to take in her surroundings. The room was smaller than her already modest room on Air Temple Island. The decayed stone walls looked moist and Korra noticed ice forming in the uppermost corners. On the far wall was a faucet, and a bowl of noodles rested next to a faint light on a rickety nightstand. Shivering, she looked down her own body.

_Huh. These _are_ my blankets from Tenzin's home. Did Amon really bring these with him when he took me? How desperate is he to make me feel comfortable here?_

Determined to rid herself of the offending linens, Korra tried to sit up only to remain flat on her back, grimacing in pain. Amon's chi blocking was clearly more powerful than she thought.

_Ok, ok. You're fine. You can do this. Just breathe. Good, breathe in and out. In and out. Ok, one quick motion. Quick like a panther cat, quick like a panther cat! Go!_

Her attempt to sit up resulted in more of a roll. With her sore limbs, which were already tangled in the bed sheets, Korra helplessly crashed to the freezing stone floor. Her deep howl seemed to crystalize in the air and tears of pain escaped her clinched eyes. Mustering an incredible amount of strength, Korra slowly managed to lift herself into a kneeling position. She rested for a moment and tried to survey her body's injuries.

As she flexed her muscles, Beifong's recount of Aki's various injuries floated through Korra's memory. The thought of Amon's hands on her most intimate parts caused her to panic, but she urged herself to focus. Considering how twisted her blankets were and the fact that Korra was still in her clothes, she doubted Amon had tried anything sexual, but she couldn't remember for sure. Given his stage persona at Equalist rallies, he seemed like the type of assaulter that demanded an audience. Though her rationale was comforting, the thought of his return still terrified Korra.

She had to be ready. She had to defend herself.

However, her shaky legs proved to be more than challenging. His chi blocking had completely shocked her muscles, and though she willed her legs to obey, they trembled under her own weight. When she finally rose to a weak standing position, her legs gave out, sending Korra flailing into the wooden door. Her sob pushed between the wooden planks. As she used the door to pull herself up, she heard a quiet _shhh! _from the other side.

Korra's eyebrows shot up. Was Amon shushing her? "Hello?" she whispered.

There was no response.

Clearing her throat, she asked louder. "Hello?!"

"Be quiet!" a gentle voice whimpered.

_Oh, spirits! Someone is out there! They can help me get out! Wait, why would they tell me to be quiet?_

Korra briefly remembered Amon's actions earlier that day; his repeated attempts to silence her screams flitted through her mind before they disappeared just as quickly. What was wrong with her mind? Everything was so hazy…Why couldn't she hold onto her memories? The cold grip of Amon's hand on her mouth flashed in her mind again. She thought it was just an exertion of power, but maybe it was simply to keep her quiet…

Taking action before she forgot her reasoning behind it, Korra risked another shout.

"My name is Korra. Is someone out there?" Her determination was lost in the quivering of her own voice. She hated how weak she sounded.

Even more than her trembling voice, Korra hated the silence that answered her call. Another tear pushed itself from her eyes. What had Amon done to make whoever was on the other side of the door afraid to speak? Anger, sadness, and defiance bubbled from Korra. She couldn't let Amon break her. Not like he had broken whoever else was out there.

She banged her fist on the door. "Come on! Who's out there?! Please, my name…" A sob overtook her. Korra took a few deep breaths to gather herself. If she was going to convince the other person to talk, she would have to be strong enough for the both of them. "Please talk to me. My name is Korra. I don't think I've been here very long, but please… I just want to talk to you."

"Korra?!" a familiar voice cried. "Korra, it's Asami! Are you there?"

A meek call interrupted. "Shhh! They'll come back! They'll come back and kill you for talking!"

Korra gasped in relief. Asami was here and she was alive! Yet, before she could contemplate who "they" were or even respond, more voices echoed through the passageway.

"Korra? Are you the Avatar?"

"Please! I've been here for days. I don't think I can take it much longer…"

Korra rested her head against the door and tried to take it all in. Detective Haru was right. Amon is collecting women. She was relieved to know that Asami was alive, but she didn't want to think about what her beautiful friend had gone through in this place, what all these women had gone through…

She had to get them out.

Korra chose her words carefully and dared one more yell. "Asami, everyone, hold on. I'm going to get us out. I promise! I _will_ get us out."

She straightened her back and slowly slid her feet into a bending stance that she knew would make Bolin proud.

Korra was determined to escape. And she wouldn't be alone.

* * *

_~*~Later that night…~*~_

It had been the most painful hours of Korra's life, but she was finally able to practice her bending moves. She still couldn't actually bend – Amon's chi blocking had seen to that – but her muscles had stopped seizing. She had worked her way from the flowing motions Tenzin taught her, and was now pushing her body through Bolin's earthbending warmups.

_I may not be able to bend, but if I'm going to go out, I'm going out with a fight. He's faster and stronger, but all I need is to land one hit. Then one more. Then another._

She hadn't heard anything outside her room for a while now... No sound of Amon's footsteps, no cries from the other girls. Maybe she would break free without even seeing Amon. Of course, getting past the bolted door was another hurdle. Korra didn't know much about locks, but the mechanism appeared to be crudely constructed at best. If she could find a way to lift the door – perhaps by raising the stone floor just beneath the door if her bending came back soon – it would lift free from the hinges.

As she exercised her arms, Korra began to doubt to probability of a successful escape. Her rough plan required her bending to come back before Amon showed himself again. Only then could she break out the other girls. Worst case scenario, Amon came back before her bending did. Then she would have to defeat him in a fistfight…

Almost on cue, Korra heard the _clink!_ of the door lock, startling her into hurried movements. She hadn't even heard footsteps approaching the door! She dove onto the bed, scurrying under the covers and straightening them into some semblance of order. She saw the door open and unsurprisingly, Amon stepped into her room. If she played her cards right, she could pass off her winded breathing and forehead sweat as nervousness, rather than evidence of her workout. Then, before Amon expected anything, she would strike. Just one good hit, that's all she needed. Just one hit.

"Get up," Amon demanded flatly.

Korra didn't expect this. She was pretending to still be paralyzed from Amon's earlier chi blocking. How did he expect her to move? She didn't know what to do.

"I said, 'GET UP.'" Amon hadn't finished his command before he ripped the blankets off the bed, grabbed Korra by the hair and violently yanked her to her feet. He threw her into the wall and Korra saw stars as her already sore head struck the stones. Before she could recover, Amon had her by the throat. He lifted her off the ground until her eyes were level with his. Amon's silver orbs were shooting daggers into her.

"Explain something to me, Korra." Amon spoke quietly, despite Korra's noisy struggle for air. "I bring you here, I try to make you comfortable, and I ask so little of you in return. Yet you"—he punctuated this by slamming Korra's head into the wall—"start planning an escape."

Korra's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know? Had he been watching her? Did he see her working out? She stretched her feet, trying to reach the ground, but it was too far away. How could she attack if she couldn't even touch the ground?

Registering her look of surprise, Amon continued, his deep voice now beginning to rattle with rage. "Oh, Korra. You didn't think I left you completely unattended, did you? I am very displeased with you. I explained the consequences of disobeying me, didn't I? DIDN'T I?! Why would you betray me like this, Korra?"

_Oh, spirits. He's losing it. He is absolutely unraveling and he is going to kill me…_

"ANSWER ME!"

A tear of panic rolled down her cheek, splashing onto the hand Amon had around her throat. She knew going up against the powerful Equalist leader would be hard, but trying to fight someone who was clearing teetering on the edge of sanity was something else altogether…

The hand around her throat loosened its grip and Korra's feet landed on the floor. She coughed and tried to take in deep gulps of air. Before she had recovered, Amon grabbed the nape of her neck and placed his fingers on the top of Korra's head, situating his thumb on her forehead.

Giving her just enough room, Amon took a small step back and growled. "On your knees. Now."

Amon's anger was clearly in control of him. If she could get him to calm down, maybe he would go back to the relaxed—albeit super creepy—Amon. Korra figured that Amon would go down in a fight much faster than this crazed man in front of her. Finally managing to speak, Korra tried to reason with him. "Please. I didn't mean to-… I can be good."

Without slackening his hold, Amon brought his face closer to Korra's. "Yeah?"

She tried not to flinch away from him. "Yes! Just don't do this. Please."

For a moment, Korra thought she had gotten through to him. But then she heard him scoff as he pulled himself away from her face. "On your knees, or I will make you."

_No. No, this can't be happening. I can't die alone like this… Wait. Asami! And the other girls! I'm not alone. I can't leave them here! What will Amon do to Asami? If he knows I was trying to escape, he must know about Asami talking to me. I'm not alone here, I'm not alone. The others need me._

Korra took a deep, steadying breath.

Amon, who thought she was gasping in fear, savored the sound. It was one of the last things his little Avatar would do before he killed her…

The last thing he expected was a huge blast of fire, but that's exactly what exploded from Korra's mouth. Amon stumbled backwards, hitting the opposite wall and slumping to the floor. Korra saw Amon grip his mask and throw the red-hot disguise from his face before she sprinted towards the open door. Not knowing which way to go, Korra whipped her head up and down the hallway. She quickly bolted to the right, but staggered as her fatigued muscles overpowered the adrenaline that was coursing through her. She gripped the wall and tried to steady herself.

"KORRA!"

Amon's scream spurred Korra back into action.

_Run, just run! You've got to get away! Move!_

Her bare feet slapped against the stone floor and her gasps became panicked whimpers. Taking her eyes off the ground, she looked up and saw a staircase! There was a staircase ahead! She reached the ancient wooden steps and hurled herself upwards. Even when her foot caught and she tripped, Korra crawled upward with surprising speed.

Once at the top, she realized she was in a house. Her vision was spinning, but she fought off the clouds that seemed to be settling over her mind. She couldn't stop here. She had to keep moving. She felt a chilly breeze hit her face and she scanned the room for the source. An open window was sending small flakes of snow onto the hardwood floor. She quickly crossed to the window and peered outside. Korra couldn't see far through the snowfall, but she could make out trees and possibly mountains in the distance.

"KORRA! GET BACK HERE!"

This time, Amon's yell echoed off the enclosed space of the stairwell Korra had just climbed. Without another thought, she threw herself out the window, landing on the soft snow that had accumulated on the lawn. Refusing to look back, Korra urged her body forward. She couldn't tell if fatigue was setting in or if the snow was obstructing her legs, but either way, Korra felt like she was hardly moving fast enough to outrun Amon's well-trained body.

She had just struggled her way to the tree line in front of the house when she heard Amon's feet crunching in the snow behind her. She hurled her stumbling body into the woods. Her arms flailed in an attempt to keep her balance and though her legs were propelling her forward, they constantly buckled as she ran. The thin tree branches slapped her face and the stones on the ground sliced into her bare feet and the freezing air stung as it entered her lungs in greedy gulps, but she didn't care. She just had to keep running. She had to keep running. She had to get away.

"YOU KNOW I'M GOING TO CATCH YOU, KORRA! STOP THIS LITTLE GAME RIGHT NOW!"

She had been running so desperately that she failed to notice that she was running straight towards a steep cliff. Korra let out a small yell as her feet slid over the icy ground, and she teetered on the edge of the snow-covered cliff. Rebalancing herself, she stepped back. As she turned around to alter her route, Amon crashed through the trees. He appeared unfazed by their chase and Korra noticed she had replaced his scorched mask with a dark hood. She couldn't see his eyes, but she felt them burning through her. Korra instinctually took a step back only to realize her heel was dangling over the edge of the cliff.

"Don't—Korra, don't move. Take it easy," Amon's soothed in a deep, calming voice as he outstretched his hand.

She pushed away the clumps of hair that had stuck to her sweaty face and carefully leaned over the edge, surveying how far she would fall if she went over. She was momentarily distracted by a streak of blood on her hand. She felt her face again, and was met with sharp stings of pain. The tree branches must have been more unforgiving than she realized. Glancing down, she saw light red footprints leading to where she was standing and it hit her: she was being torn apart.

"Korra, you'd never survive the fall. Look at me, Korra. Now, just come here. COME HERE, KORRA!"

She jumped at his barked command. The view over the cliff was dizzying and Amon's rage was just as terrifying. Even at her strongest, she doubted she could survive jumping off the cliff. And now… She looked at her tattered body and tried to bend the snow beneath her…

Nothing.

_I can either jump to my death or Amon can kill me. At least the first will deny him the satisfaction…_

Taking advantage of Korra's hesitation, Amon lunged forward. He quickly jabbed her arms and easily took hold of her hair without resistance. He wrenched her backwards away from the cliff and then kicked Korra's legs out from beneath her, ignoring her cries of pain.

Forced to her knees and with Amon safely behind her, Korra was now completely defenseless. She felt his breath against her ear. "As I was saying, I am very displeased with you, Korra."

Korra's lungs seized up. Was it her lungs? No! It was her heart! It weakly tried to pump against Amon's grip, but it was no use.

He tilted her head back, only far enough for Korra to see the top of Amon's hooded head. "I told you I would destroy you. Goodnight, my little Avatar."

She briefly saw the grey sparkle of Amon's eyes through the hood's shadow, and their cold glimmer only magnified her fear. Korra braced herself as she felt the initial spark of Amon's control surge through her.

Just then, a bark sliced through the air.

_Naga!_

Korra felt Amon release his grip. She fell face forward into the snow, but fought to stay conscious. She heard Amon's pained roar, Naga's snarl, and a piercing snap of breaking bone. When she managed to turn her head, Korra saw Naga kneel in front of her, and flinging her body onto Naga's back, she begged her companion to run. Only able to hold on with her legs, Korra rested her head between Naga's shifting shoulder blades. She drifted into sleep, finally feeling safe under Naga's protection, completely trusting the animal to bring her back home.

_Home…_

Amon lifted himself from snow-covered ground. He tried to push himself up, but buckled when one of his arms gave out. Glancing at the limb, Amon saw deep red blood flowing freely from the polar bear dog's teeth marks. He couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like a splintered bit of bone had broken through the skin. He let forth a deep yell that would have scared the life out of any being that heard it. It wasn't a yell of pain, but one of insane rage.

Standing to his feet, Amon looked around for any sign of Korra or Naga, but they were long gone. Even the polar bear dog's tracks had almost disappeared in the increasing snowfall. Amon cradled his arm and made his way back to the cabin, but his fury radiated off him in waves.

Amon knew he didn't kill her, but he doubted Korra's memory would be in tact. At least his cover wouldn't be blown. Still, he would need to watch her closely to be sure.

_Her… Korra. How did she get away? Why would she betray me?!_

Yes, he would watch her quite closely. And then, when the time was right, he would truly show Korra the meaning of betrayal. He would show her how much she had hurt him. She might have gotten away, but this was not the end. Not by a long shot.

_I need to have her more than ever. I will have her. And then, I will crush her._

* * *

_AN: Title from "Help I'm Alive" by Metric._

_Yes, I did get my door-and-lock physics (shut up, I know that's not a thing) from Pirates of the Caribbean. That's how bad I am at physics/architecture._

_Also, spot the Friends reference!_


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: Good news first: Kags21 guessed my crossover: "Kiss the Girls." I encourage all of you to watch it and share your thoughts about it and Lok (and my little Frankenstein monster). Also, thanks for all the reviews/favorites/follows! If you like the music that inspired by chapter titles, you can head over to my Tumblr – I made a post with Youtube links. It's fun musical times. Bad news: Torture and noncon in this chapter. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. If it helps, it took me a long time to write/edit? I'm not good at it and I feel so horrible for the things that I did to both characters involved. =(_

* * *

Chapter 7 – "My Body is a Cage"

_~*~The next morning…~*~_

The rising sun shot beams of light over Air Temple Island. Mako and Bolin were gathered around Tenzin's dining table, which they were using as a site for their own piles of evidence. Scraps of paper with Mako's scrawly handwriting littered the table's surface. Bolin's sad attempts at cartography flowed onto the floor, buried beneath Meelo's far more advanced sketches of the island. At the moment, Bolin was using his latest designs as a makeshift pillow, his snores softly rattling the edges of the papers. They had scoured every corner of the island, but still hadn't found any substantial evidence related to Korra's abduction.

Though he was technically awake, Mako's glazed-over eyes couldn't see past the thick veil of sleep deprivation. He stared into some distant place, his elbows resting on the table and his hands deeply imbedded in his wayward locks. Insomnia pulled him further away from reality, but his fear for Asami and Korra's lives sent a nervous energy twitching through his body. At this point, Mako acknowledged his uselessness – how could he help his friends when he couldn't even focus on a piece of paper in front of his face?

He absentmindedly rubbed his eyes as Pema silently moved into the room with a teapot in hand. Mako didn't register her presence until Pema started pouring the exhausted firebender a cup of well-needed caffeine.

"Oh. Good morning Pema. Thanks," Mako mumbled before taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"Did you get any sleep, Mako?" asked Pema, her motherly tone washing over Mako in concerned waves. In truth, she couldn't keep Korra's absence from her children, despite Pema's natural instinct to shield them from the horrors gripping Republic City. Of course they didn't know the details of the case, but Meelo, Ikki, and Jinora only wanted to help find Korra. Bolin had taken Meelo under his wing, each one distracting the other as they sketched the various aspects of Air Temple Island. Mako, however, sequestered himself from everyone, even Tenzin. His self-consuming determination worried Pema. She feared Mako was quickly approaching some kind of breakdown, especially if he continued his sleepless quest at this rate.

"I don't understand how Bol-… how people can just sleep when the killer is still out there," he asserted, painfully fisting his dark hair.

"I know you're worried about Asami and Korra"—Mako's brows furrowed deeper at the mention of their names—"but you're not helping them by draining yourself to exhaustion."

Even though he had been thinking the same thing, Mako resisted Pema's accusation. "I won't-… I can't-… How can I rest? I can't stop thinking about what the killer might be doing to them." His voice cracked in anguish. "What if they're already dead?!"

Bolin jerked awake at his brother's outburst, one of the maps still sticking to his face with the help of a sizeable accumulation of dried drool. As he peeled off the paper in question, Bolin turned his sleepy eyes across the table. Mako was holding his face in his hands while Pema tried to place a comforting arm around the young man, but her substancial baby bump was making it difficult. Bolin knew he couldn't talk Mako into sleeping, and resignedly reached for the still steaming pot of tea next to Mako's arm.

Using her most mothering voice, Pema suggested to Mako, "Ok, if you don't want to sleep, will you at least spare 15 minutes for some breakfast?" Bolin, having already thrown back a cup of tea, perked up at this offer. "The girls have whipped up a grand little feast and they would love it if you enjoyed their hard work on the porch. It's a lovely morning."

Trying his best to hide a sniffle, Mako took his face away from his hands and pulled his shoulders back. "Ok. Maybe just 15 minutes." Smiling to herself, Pema watched the brothers made their way outside together.

Just as they stepped onto the porch, Bolin placed a supportive hand on Mako's shoulder. Asami and Korra's abductions were grueling for Bolin, but he knew Mako was suffering more, if pain could be objectified in such terms. The table Jinora and Ikki had set up was heaped with food. Apparently, Bolin thought, he and Mako weren't the only ones trying to keep busy during this troubled time. As Mako practically collapsed into one of the chairs, Bolin stared across the water, momentarily taking in Republic City's skyline. The pro-bending arena reminded him of a simpler time. Though he and Mako hadn't had an easy childhood, his youth seemed almost blissful compared to the past few weeks. Whispers of the impending Equalist revolution grew louder by the day and the nights reeked of terror; the entire city was on pins and needles, acutely aware that women were being taken in the depths of night.

_How did it come to this?_

Hurried footsteps on the porch steps around the corner broke Bolin's train of thought. Ignorant of the sound, no doubt due to the sound of his jaw working up and down, Mako asked, "Are you ok? You haven't touched the food yet."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bolin responded just as Chief Beifong and her hooded lieutenant came around the corner.

Eying the brothers, Beifong wasted no time. "Where is Tenzin? We need to speak with him immediately."

Mako jumped up from his seat at the table. "Did you find something? Have you caught the killer?"

"Chief Beifong asked to speak with Councilman Tenzin, not a pair of pro-benders," the lieutenant snarked.

Feeling Mako's glare, Beifong growled, "Easy, Lieutenant," as Tenzin and Pema stepped out onto the porch.

"Chief Beifong, Lieutenant Noatak. Do you have news?" asked Tenzin, skipping his usual formalities.

Beifong's eyes quickly passed over Mako and Bolin. "Yes, but I'd prefer to speak with you inside."

"Come now, Chief Beifong. Surely you've cleared Mako from the list of suspects," reasoned Tenzin. Mako lowered his eyes, suddenly finding the porch's woodwork quite interesting, as Bolin straightened his back in defense of the accusation against his brother.

Taking a resolute breath, Beifong continued. "Fine, but I would like you all to let me finish before interrupting." Pema held one of Tenzin's arms for support and both Mako and Bolin took unsteady breaths. "Early this morning, Naga arrived on the steps of one of Republic City's hospitals with Korra on her back. I don't know how far they had traveled, but Naga had almost run herself into the ground—"

Unable to obey Beifong's condition, Mako interrupted, "But she's alive?! Korra's alive?"

Despite the emotional news she was delivering, Beifong couldn't suppress a truly fantastic eye roll before continuing. "Korra hasn't yet regained consciousness, but yes, she is alive. As soon as I heard she was in the hospital, I came here to inform you."

Tenzin took charge, determined to get to Korra's side as soon as possible. "Pema, stay here with the children and send word to my mother. Her healing powers are needed. Mako, Bolin. You'll come with me to the hospital."

"We'll get Oogi ready and meet you in front of the house," Mako offered as he and Bolin sprinted off the porch. Following the brothers' trail, Tenzin, Beifong, and Noatak started off.

"Tenzin," Beifong warned, "I know you and your family are excited, but I'm very worried about Korra. There's no telling what she's been through mentally and I haven't read the doctor's report on her physical condition…"

Maintaining his serious composure, Tenzin responded, "I understand, Lin. I'm just relieved that she's back."

"I know." Beifong turned her attention to her lieutenant. "Lieutenant Noatak, can you take the airship back to headquarters on your own? I'm going to the hospital with Tenzin."

"I think I can manage, Chief," Noatak stated, unconsciously cradling the arm currently wrapped in a sling.

"I meant to ask," Tenzin chimed in, "what happened to your arm, Lieutenant? It's looks pretty bad."

"A gang of Equalists ambushed my team last night. Thankfully my arm was the greatest casualty on the evening, not including the rebels we apprehended." Bolin and Mako approached the three with Oogi trailing behind them. "If you'll excuse me," said Noatak, taking his leave.

"Everyone ready?" Mako asked with the slightest hint of impatience.

"Yes, let's go," answered Tenzin as he took Oogi's reins and steered them towards Republic City.

* * *

_~*~Later that afternoon…~*~_

Mako paced in the hospital waiting room. He had been dragging his feet back and forth for the past half hour and Tenzin didn't have the heart to tell him to sit down, even though it was making him anxious. They were still waiting for Katara to arrive, but the hospital doctors had given them as much news as they could. Korra's body sported deep bruises from chi blocking and gashes riddled her face, arms, and feet. They were relieved to learn that Korra hadn't been sexually assaulted, but the solace was short-lived. The healers still couldn't figure out Korra's comatose state, and unable to isolate the cause, they were doubtful of an immediate recovery.

Bounding into the room with arms full of takeout dinner, Bolin announced with a smile on his face, "Look who I found while I was out!" Katara's small frame stepped from behind the earthbender.

"Mother!" Tenzin greeted, still maintaining a hint of seriousness even in his excited state.

"Oh, Tenzin. I'm so sorry," Katara comforted as she embraced her son. "Where is Korra?"

"Just down this hallway. I'll take you to her."

Mako and Bolin watched as Tenzin led his mother down the passageway and past the two metalbenders stationed outside Korra's room. They were relieved to know that Korra was under constant surveillance and even more reassured of her wellbeing now that Katara had arrived. A couple minutes later, Tenzin emerged from the Korra's room and rejoined the young men. All three ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Two hours later Katara exited Korra's room. Tenzin, Mako, and Bolin met her in the hallway, too eager to wait for Katara's slow pace to bring her to the waiting room. "She's awake," the waterbender reported.

Bolin and Mako hugged each other happily and Tenzin smiled in relief. "Mother, you're amazing."

"Can we see her?" asked Mako.

"Yes, go ahead. Just try to take it easy," instructed Katara. The boys had already taken off down the hall when she added, "Tenzin, I've healed some terrible cases in my life, but I haven't seen something this bad since Azula struck down your father while he was in the Avatar state."

"What do you mean?"

"Korra's coma didn't occur from stress or exhaustion – it was forced upon her. I don't know how, but something very powerful took hold of her. The chi blocking still hasn't worn off, so we'll have to wait a while, but I think her bending's been deeply affected. We'll have to wait for her to regain some strength before we're sure."

"How is this possible?" Tenzin asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it was also caused some memory damage. I tried to ask Korra what happened, but she's can't remember everything about the ordeal. It's possible that her memories will eventually return, but it will take time. We'll have to be patient."

Inside Korra's room, Bolin approached her bedside. "Korra?" he whispered. "Korra, can you hear me?"

She slowly opened her eyes. "Bolin?"

"Yeah! How do you feel? Do you need anything? Are you hungry? I can get some food if you'd like—"

"Bolin, calm down. Give her a minute," Mako said from the other side of Korra's bed.

"Hey, Mako," Korra greeted, a small smile struggling to form on her face.

More than compensating for Korra's slightly upturned lips, Mako asked through his beaming smile, "Are you feeling ok?"

"All things considered, yeah, I think so. I just… I wish I could remember more about what happened. I feel so useless." Though Katara urged her to relax, Korra had almost over-exerted herself just trying to remember what had happened over the past few days. It was beyond frustrating, and Korra's stubbornness refused to heed Katara's advice. Surely there was pertinent information locked away in her head and Korra didn't want to wait for it to possibly reveal itself in time; she would take a damn hammer to her brain if she could. Even though she couldn't remember what happened to her, she was immensely happy to see Mako and Bolin beside her.

Noticing Korra's furrowed eyebrows, Bolin took her hand and blurted, "Hey, no one thinks that. We're just glad you're back."

"Yeah," agreed Mako as he reached out to brush a stray strand of hair from Korra's face. When his fingers brushed her forehead, Korra gasped. An image of an old, wood door came flashed before her eyes. She suddenly remembered hearing a quiet voice calling out to her…

Thinking she was in pain, Mako quickly withdrew his hand. "Are you ok, Korra?! Did I hurt you? I didn't mean—"

"No," Korra reassured excitedly as she held her head in her hands. She suddenly felt very light-headed, but tried to explain what she'd experienced. "I just remembered something. I think I remember where I was being held. There was this wood door surrounded by old stones and I remember hearing voices… and I think Asami's was one of them!"

At that moment outside Korra's hospital room, Noatak dismissed the two metalbenders on duty, ensuring the officers that they had plenty of time for a break. As they made they way down the hall, he considered how easy it was to manipulate Beifong's police force. Of course, he had put in the time working his way to Lieutenant. But now he was free to control whatever and whoever he wished. The capacity for people's trust, despite never revealing any of his personas' faces, always amazed him. Perhaps the lack of a face allowed those around him to project the image they wished to see. It was a point of great pride and skill, to seduce so many people. To give just enough of himself to establish trust, but hold back so much more, shrouding himself in elusiveness and mystery. Dark, enigmatic men were always so fascinating…except to her…

Mako and Bolin burst from her room and ran towards the waiting room. Noatak assumed they were on their way to tell Tenzin something of great importance, but he didn't wait to find out. Almost blending into the shadows, he slid his way into her room and lightly pulled the door closed behind him.

The lights were dimmed and the girl appeared to be asleep. Amused at how similar she looked to when she was in his room below the cabin, Noatak approached her bedside. Without breaking his gaze from her relaxed face, he reached for her medical chart that was hanging on the bed. Only after lightly brushing over the contours of her lips did he tear his eyes away and read her medical report. He smiled as he read her mental statistics: "Amnesia, possibly temporary? Cause: unknown."

Crediting her strength, Noatak knew it was only a matter of time before she began to remember. Yet, even if she remembered his mask – Amon's mask – what else would the police do? They were already trying to quash the Equalists. Worst-case scenario, Beifong would be more determined in her search, but Noatak could always corrupt her investigation from the inside. He relished his power – he was holding this city in the palm of his hands.

The girl's shifting body caught Noatak's attention. The light sound of her rustling hospital sheets was followed by the distinct click of metalbender boots echoing outside the room. Noatak carefully replaced the medical report before saying goodbye.

"Sleep well, my little Avatar. I'll be seeing you."

* * *

Asami felt like she was dying.

The only thing keeping her from slipping into insanity was the thought of Korra's escape. Asami focused on the memory of Korra's feet running on the stone floor and the masked one call after her. She didn't know if Korra had gotten away, but considering the punishment Asami was currently facing, she assumed Korra was successful. Why else would he be treating her like this? Unless he just enjoyed hearing her scream…

He had her against the wall with her arms spread out on both sides. She was no longer shocked at his bloodbending, but that didn't make it any less painful. Asami's body twitched as he approached her, his form coming into sharper focus. She hated his face. Asami had grown to associate it with torment and terror, and it didn't help that she couldn't remember him exactly. His name escaped her any time she tried to think about it too hard, but she knew he was familiar. The polished politician, with every hair in place, so frightening in his calm composure, like torturing people was just one of his everyday responsibilities.

His voice interrupted Asami's thoughts. "Now, what the first thing I ever told you, Asami?"

She remained silent, defiantly glaring through a veil of tears.

Tarrlok grabbed Asami by the chin and clicked his tongue. "Tut-tut. When I ask you a question, you answer, or I will make you answer. You should know this by now, Asami."

As he released her face, a bloodcurdling scream tore through Asami's throat. She couldn't look at her hands – or even keep her eyes open – but she felt Tarrlok ripping her blood from beneath her fingernails in razor-sharp streams. Her nails were slowly being torn from the fingers by thin rivulets of her own blood.

Tarrlok was sure that it felt like an eternity for Asami, but for him, the delicious sound of her shriek ended all too soon. He could practically feel the pulse of her yell fading in her own veins. No one else had felt Asami like this before, and if he had it his way, no one else ever would. Just before she passed out from the pain, Tarrlok stopped.

Asami whimpered with each exhale, still feeling the agony of his attack. She unclenched her eyelids and saw the river of blood flowing from her hands, coating the ancient walls in dark streams of red.

"Now, answer me."

She couldn't contain a giant sob before trying to speak. Anything to make him stop. "You… told me not to… to talk to anyone."

"Oh, good. You do remember." Tarrlok gripped her chin again and stared into her eyes for a moment before continuing. "So are you going to break the rules again?"

Asami's crying was uncontrollable now. Her hands felt like they had been torn from her body, but she also knew more pain was ahead and it frightened her. He let go of Asami's face and her head slumped down so that her long, mangled hair curtained off Tarrlok from view. She hated him watching her.

"No," her raw voice finally cracked.

Tarrlok mockingly whispered his response. "No? No what?"

"No, I won't break the rules again."

Tarrlok gripped Asami's hair, yanking it so that she was facing him. He wanted to see the anguish flood her eyes. He loved seeing her overcome with humiliation. She was so beautiful as a broken little thing – _his_ broken little thing. A smile spread over his face. "Good girl. What else?"

He watched as Asami's eyelashes fluttered up and down, struggling against the flow of tears. She didn't respond as quickly as he hoped. Clearly the girl needed some words of encouragement. He lightly shook her head by the hair as if playfully jostling her mind. "Come on. What else?"

She took a shaky breath and answered, "I'm sorry."

"Excellent." He jerked her head farther back, completely exposing her throat. He breathed his next words into her neck. "I would hate to kill you, Asami. You really are my favorite."

He released her body from his bloodbending grasp, and before her legs could collapse, he threw her onto the bed beside them. She weakly tried to crawl to the far side, but Tarrlok easily caught one of her ankles and pulled her towards him, her hands smearing a trail of blood across the sheets. Asami heard Tarrlok fidgeting with his clothes and she knew what was coming. She couldn't decide which was worse, his most recent stunt with her fingernails or feeling him move inside her.

_At least now he can't see my face. At least I can imagine Korra escaping. At least I can hope that Mako will save me. Korra will save me. I'll get away. Korra will come back. I will escape this. I will escape him…_

* * *

_AN: I'm so sorry! Ugh, I hate myself a little bit. Ok, a lot. I'm going to eat a tub of ice cream as I question myself as a human being. Also, is "snarked" a word? It is now. Chapter title by Arcade Fire._


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: Sorry about the delay and apologies that this chapter is kind of short. If anyone ever suggests going to grad school, just punch them in the throat._

* * *

Chapter 8 – "Body of Work"

_~*~Two days later…~*~_

Korra and Tenzin stood just inside City Hall. Even behind closed doors Korra could still hear the low murmur of the crowd outside. Word quickly got out that Korra had escaped the now infamous kidnapper, and every news outlet wanted a piece of her story. Councilman Tarrlok had suggested a press conference, and though Korra wasn't excited about speaking in front of so many people, satisfying the media in one fell swoop was enticing. Korra knew she needed to project the image of strength—she was the Avatar, savior of the world—but honestly, she couldn't wait to get this over with.

"Korra, you don't have to do this if you don't feel up to it. No one would blame you," Tenzin said.

She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "No, I have to do this. I need to do this… for Asami." Her sunken eyes met Tenzin's, and the airbending master resignedly nodded.

Ever since Korra had woken up a couple days earlier, she hadn't been able to remember much about her abduction, just bits and pieces and even those were hard to hold onto. Almost every time she managed to drift to sleep, a dark figure haunted her dreams. Thinking about the same figure standing over Asami was enough to keep Korra awake for hours. Though she was starting to feel like she was physically recovering, her weary eyes betrayed the true depth of her exhaustion.

The sound of expensive shoes slapping against City Hall's tiled floor echoed down the hall. Korra looked around Tenzin to see Councilman Tarrlok confidently approaching them.

"Good morning, Councilman Tenzin. Hello, Korra. It's…um, lovely to see you've recovered so quickly..." Tarrlok flashed her a well-practiced smile, but even the skilled politician couldn't lie his way around Korra's drained appearance. Still, he tried to recover. "Your hair is… fine. Well, if you're ready, it's time to step out there."

Ignoring Tarrlok's sass, Korra turned her attention to Tenzin, taking strength from his steady gaze. With Tarrlok beside her, Korra made her way towards the doors. The morning light blazed upon her, and she was grateful that its shine distracted her from the crowd, if only for a few moments. Though she held her head high, Korra's eyes remain locked on the stairs until she had completely descended them. Once standing behind the podium, she finally looked past the microphones and into the sizable audience that had gathered. As she scanned the crowd, she noticed that journalists and other members of the press only made up a small portion of the mob. Hiroshi Sato was in attendance, and next to him in an unsurprisingly great spot sat Tahno and the rest of the Wolfbats. The arrogant waterbender met Korra's gaze and gave a small wave, only lightly flickering his fingers before snickering with his teammates, but never taking his eyes off Korra. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Korra continued to examine the audience. How were this many people here? Did they really need to witness Korra's speech firsthand? Were they here for support or merely to relish in the Avatar's struggle? Suddenly another thought crossed her mind: Was her attacker here? Was he watching her? Could he see her panicking? With such a large crowd, he could easily blend in…

_What am I talking about? "Blend in." Like I could recognize him even if I looked him straight in the face._

Seeking comfort from the terrifying thought, Korra searched for Beifong. The Police Chief insisted on heavy security for the conference and Korra was immensely appreciative. The city's metalbenders patrolled the crowd, steadily circulating around the scene. All except one, Korra noticed. Beifong's Lieutenant had made an appearance, even with what looked like a severely injured arm, and was standing at the back of the crowd, directly in line with Korra's podium.

Before she could think about him anymore, Tarrlok stepped beside her at the dais and spoke into the microphones. "Good morning and thank you for your time. As I'm sure you've heard, a few days ago, Avatar Korra was the latest victim in a series of kidnappings in our great city. Amazingly, she escaped her abductor and would now like to make an announcement. If you would please give her the attention she rightfully deserves. There will be no questions. Thank you. And now, Avatar Korra."

Tarrlok stepped back, giving Korra full control of the podium. The silence was unnerving. She was in the middle of the city, but even the streets seemed to be straining to listen to Korra. She cleared her throat and spoke into the microphones. "Hello. I would first like to thank everyone who's been so supportive of my recovery. Your words of encouragement have practically flooded my hospital room and they are truly touching."

She wasn't exaggerating in the least. Korra knew a war between benders and nonbenders was brewing, and the incredible volume of cards and visitors she'd received was inspiring. For her, it meant that the city still had hope and still believed in her. She felt her eyes begin to water, and quickly tried to blink them back. She had to be strong—for Asami, for the other girls, for all the affected families.

"Secondly, I know you must still be concerned. Republic City is currently facing many terrors, and I can assure you that once I have fully recovered, I will be back on the streets with Chief Beifong and her excellent team of metalbenders. We will find the man behind this. We will find your daughters and sisters. And we will bring peace back to this city. Finally, to my kidnapper…"

It seemed like everyone in the audience shifted in their seats, the journalists poised to record Korra's every word, every gesture. She steadied her voice and glared into the crowd.

"I was the one who defied you. No one else had anything to do with my escape. So if you're looking for retribution... you know where to find me. Thank you."

The crowd roared to life, yelling Korra's name, and flashing pictures. Had she just taunted her kidnapper? She hadn't expected to sound that defiant. Korra panicked and turned towards Tenzin, overcome with the need for his comforting reassurance. Sensing her anxiety, Tenzin was already leading Korra away from the podium before she had completely turned around. As they climbed the steps into City Hall, Korra took one final look at the sea of people, horrified by the feeling of antagonistic eyes following her every move.

* * *

_~*~Later that day…~*~_

"Tenzin, you know I want to remember what happened, but I don't think meditating is really the best method. I couldn't meditate before I was taken, so what makes you think I can do it now?" Korra complained.

She was sitting with her legs crossed opposite Tenzin in the meditation pavilion. At the moment, she was trying to bury her head between planks of wood. She was exhausted and despite the alleged calming effects of meditating, Korra's brain felt like mush. Her strain was further complicated by the weight of her guilt. She just wanted to find Asami! Why couldn't she just meditate?! How could she rest when the kidnapper was still out there?

Tenzin was aware of Korra's anguish, and he tried to comfort her in his most soothing tone of voice. "I've told you, meditation is all about disciplining your mind. I believe if you could reach some kind of meditative state, your lost memories would return to you. Now, please, try again."

"Fine," Korra huffed, finally sitting back up. Taking a deep breath, Korra closed her eyes and tried to relax. She focused on her breathing, slowly moving air in and out of her body. She tried to let her rising and falling chest gently rock her into some semblance of relaxation.

Korra was startled as her ears were invaded by heavy footsteps crunching on the gravel around the pavilion. Pouting, she peeked open one eye to locate the source the offending sound. She saw one of Beifong's officers circling around the pavilion. Unconvinced that the White Lotus sentries would provide adequate protection for the Avatar, Beifong insisted that at least three of her officers watched over Korra at all times. Normally Korra was appreciative, but right now they were proving to only be an annoyance. She slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"KORRA!" a high pitched voiced yelled. Airbending himself from the roof of the gazebo, Meelo floated onto Korra's lap and landed with a flop.

"Meelo! Korra and I are trying to meditate," scolded Tenzin.

Scrambling to grip her in a hug, Meelo explained into Korra's shoulder, "I couldn't find you. I thought you were lost again."

Korra was touched. More than touched, she thought as she felt her emotions well up inside her. Ever since she'd been released from the hospital, Tenzin's youngest barely left her side. Returning Meelo's embrace, Korra whispered, "Hey, it's ok. I'm right here."

Tenzin knew that Korra wouldn't be able to reach a meditative state today. "I think it's time to call it a day. It's almost time for dinner," the airbending master acknowledged. He hated that Korra felt guilty, but he also didn't want to push her too hard in hopes of accommodating said guilt. Forcing someone to meditate didn't exactly work.

All three headed back to the house. With Meelo holding her hand, Korra finally bucked up the courage to announce her alternative dinner plans. "Actually, Bolin and Mako wanted to meet up for dinner in the city."

"You're leaving?" Meelo meekly asked, his already large eyes widening.

"Just for a couple hours, then I'll be right back. I promise," Korra assured with a smile.

Tenzin was of course concerned. "Do you really think wandering the streets of Republic City is the best idea?"

"Do you really think anything is going to happen to me with Beifong's men at arms length?" Korra quipped. Judging Tenzin's unamused scoff, she added, "You know where I'm going, I won't be alone at any point, and I'm coming straight back. I won't even stay for dessert."

His face softened and Korra knew she was on the right track. She didn't care what it took she just needed to see Mako and Bolin. With everyone worried over Korra's recovery process, her teammates had been unable to get anywhere near her for the past couple days. Korra missed her friends, and furthermore, she longed for some sense of normalcy. "I just want to do something… normal. I'm tired of being treated like a victim. Just, for two hours, let me go back to my old routine. Please, Tenzin."

Tenzin sighed, his lips lightly turning upwards. "You're not asking me for permission, are you?"

With a small chuckle of relief, Korra replied, "No, not really."

"I thought as much," Tenzin said with a smile. "Come on, Meelo. Let's go help your mother with dinner."

Meelo released Korra's hand in favor for his father's. "See you later, Korra!" shouted the youngest airbender.

Before she had even turned around to make her way towards the docks, Korra announced, "Alright you three. Let's go." With her personal guards close behind, Korra allowed herself to feel excitement. The happiness that came with the idea of dinner with Mako and Bolin swept through her. She quickened her pace and headed towards Republic City.

* * *

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said they kept a close watch over you," Bolin muttered, flashing a forced smile at the three officers standing directly behind Korra.

"Yeah, you've got to admire their commitment, though," added Korra as she slurped a healthy mouthful of noodles. She honestly appreciated the metalbenders' protection – especially since she remembered so little of her abduction and had no idea what her kidnapper looked like – but she had a feeling the officers were so diligent mostly out of fear of Beifong's wrath. Korra couldn't blame them. From what she'd heard, the stress was only magnifying the Chief's cold, steely demeanor.

Still, Korra preferred a few moments of privacy with Mako and Bolin. She awkwardly turned around and addressed the metalbenders. "Guys, surely you can protect me just as efficiently from the next table," Korra suggested while flashing her biggest smile. The officers glanced at one another, unsure of what to do. Korra took advantage of their indecision, gently encouraging them further. "Seriously, sit down. You can still keep an eye on me while you're eating, right?" One of the men shrugged, and thankfully that was enough for the other two to move towards the table. They sat down, but shifted their seats a few inches closer to the Fire Ferrets.

Korra, Bolin, and Mako looked at each other and tried to stifle their laughter. They managed to reduce it to a dull chuckle when the metalbenders glared in their direction. It felt good to enjoy the moment—albeit the slightly awkward one—with her boys, and the three easily slid into conversation.

"So," Mako asked, "how's your bending coming along?"

Korra grimaced. She knew Mako was just worried, but it was a sore subject for Korra. "I've got some basic waterbending down, but I still can't bend fire or earth," she admitted, her head lowering. "And forget about airbending."

Mako noticed Korra's discomfort and regretted asking. "Well, it's only been a few days. I'm sure you'll have your bending back, especially with Katara's daily healing," Bolin chimed in.

"I hope so," she replied dejectedly. She was so happy that Katara had decided to stay and hold healing sessions with Korra. Korra's memory loss frustrated her and was a huge source of guilt, but her bending problems seemed to cut deeper. Korra felt naked without her bending and though she was slowly gaining her powers back, she couldn't help but feel... well, helpless. If she managed to eventually remember anything about her abduction, how could she act when she couldn't even bend three elements? Korra attempted to shift the conversation away from herself. "Mako, Tenzin told me that Beifong has finally allowed you to help out with the investigation."

"Yeah, seems like she's looking past the whole person-of-interest situation. That or she just got tired of me hanging around her office everyday. Either way, I'm glad to be involved. I think… I think we're getting close to finding the missing girls," Mako explained. Korra noticed his careful avoidance of Asami's name.

"I think after a few more days I'll be able to rejoin the search again. I really want to get back out there, especially since meditating hasn't helped me remember anything else…" Korra mused.

The sound of the restaurant's front door banging against the wall caught the group's attention. They watched as Tahno swaggered in, his posse following closely behind. She didn't know how he did it, but Tahno moved almost instinctually towards Korra.

"Well, well, well. Look who's out and about. Nice to see you're doing so well, Avatar," he drawled, placing his hands on the table and leaning over the group. "Though… something seems off. Where's the fourth member of your little Team Avatar? Oh! That's right…" Tahno's smug smile spread across his face.

Mako flinched at Asami's unmentioned name, but quickly recovered. "Why do you care?" he barked.

"As an important figure in Republic City, I am, of course, concerned with the well-being of another enticingly significant individual like Asami." Tahno feigned offense at the Fire Ferrets' matching scowls. "You don't think I take pleasure in seeing you crumble apart at the seams, do you?" he smiled. "Plus, who wouldn't miss the Sato girl's presence, despite her appalling taste in men? Not that you're too hard to look at yourself, Avatar." Emphasizing his point, Tahno grabbed Korra's chin and lightly brushed his fingers against her lips.

A wave of memories came flooding to Korra's mind. All of a sudden, she wasn't in the restaurant. She was lying on a bed. She recognized the sheets, but she was not in her room on Air Temple Island. There was a hand over her mouth and a voice, a steady and terrifyingly smooth voice that was dripping with fury:

_You. Belong. To. Me. However, if you try to fight me again – if you so much as think of escaping – I will destroy you._

Then pain. Pain all over her body, piercing pain. Chi blocking! Someone was chi blocking her and stifling her shout with his hand. Then she saw it: the pale mask, marred by a single red circle with cold grey shards penetrating the dark eye slits.

Korra was jerked back to reality, beads of sweat dripping down her face and her hands shaking uncontrollably. She blinked a few times and noticed that Beifong's officers had Tahno's hands behind his back. His face was smashed onto the table and covered with Bolin's soup, which apparently had been upturned in the struggle. Surprisingly, the earthbender didn't look too disappointed by his spoiled meal. As two metalbenders hauled Tahno outside, he whipped his head around and glared at Korra. His dramatic gesture was foiled by a chunk of his hair, which, soaked in soup, slapped Tahno's face and left a streak of noodles hanging from his perfectly manicured eyebrows.

"Alright, Avatar Korra. I think it's time to go back to Air Temple Island. I've called for two replacement officers to meet us outside the restaurant in a few minutes."

"Hold on," Korra said to the metalbender. "We need to go to the station! I need to speak with Chief Beifong!"

Bolin shared a perturbed look with Mako. "Why? What's wrong?"

"When Tahno touched my face some of my memories came back… I think Amon kidnapped me."

* * *

_AN: Cheesy cliffhanger is cheesy. I love making Tahno look like a moron. Oh, my slimy, creepily charming, beautiful idiot. And I love doing things to his hair even more. Also, apparently no one eats anything but noodles in this fanfic. I'm craving noodles, ok? AND, no regrets for the 30 Rock reference. I ALREADY MISS IT SO MUCH! Sorry for pretty much no Amon/Noatak, but Korra needed some alone time._

_Title from "Body of Work" by The Mynabirds. _


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: JESUS. This is an abnormally long chapter. Pre-revisng/editing it was already 8 pages. After, it came out to an even 10. But you guys deserve a longer, much more action-packed chapter after Chapter 8's lackluster-ness._

* * *

Chapter 9 – "The Glorious Nosebleed"

_~*~The next day…~*~_

In the few minutes of relative peace the day provided, Beifong chose to clear off some paperwork from the now mountainous pile on her desk. How did Republic City expect her to catch its highly skilled murderer when every move her team made required at least ten pages of legal forms? As she was signing what had to be her fiftieth signature, three knocks rapped on her door.

"Come in!"

Korra poked her head through the half-open door. "Chief Beifong, hi." The police chief looked entirely consumed with whatever she was working on. After staring at the top of Beifong's head for a few awkward seconds, Korra decided to excuse herself. "I'm sorry, I think I'm a little early. I can wait outside."

Before she could move, Beifong responded surprisingly quick considering the speed with which her hand was scrawling over the pile of papers. "No, no you're fine. Please come in. Sit down," Beifong muttered without looking up.

Korra stepped inside and sat herself in one of the chairs across Beifong's desk. Considering the current state of things, Korra was understandably anxious. She had always been hardheaded and had a tendency to fling herself into the fray without much logical planning. She could feel her fighting impulses radiating through her veins – she wanted to find Amon. She needed to track him down and save the other girls. Of course, over the past twenty-four hours, she was reminded that that's not how the world works. As she stared at Beifong diligently fulfilling the requirements of legal protocols, Korra knew she could do the same. This situation was larger than herself and her obsessive drive to correct her survivor's guilt needed to be sidelined, at least for the moment.

Korra nervously cleared her throat and tried to fill the silence while Beifong straightened the papers on her desk. "After we spoke yesterday, I did just as you asked and I have a list of people who know about my recovered memory. Of course I had to tell Tenzin, and Mako and Bolin were with me when I remembered, but those are the only people who know."

Once Beifong felt a little more organized, she addressed the young woman before her. "Thank you for keeping your memory quiet. Your cooperation on this will be extremely helpful to my investigation," Beifong replied vaguely. "More importantly, I've been considering the conversation we had yesterday, and I think I can fill in some aspects of your amnesia."

Surprise and confusion flashed over Korra's face. "Um, no offense, Chief Beifong, but… what? How?!"

One side of Beifong's upper lip pulled the slightest fraction upward and Korra assumed this was the closest thing to a smile she'd ever see on the Chief's face. At least her outburst hadn't offended Beifong's rigorous personality. "Well, with the media's obsession with the kidnappings, my office has been expected to churn out information regarding the case; updated suspect lists, search party results, you get the idea. Nothing top secret, though – just enough to satisfy the news cycle." Korra nodded in comprehension, yet she couldn't see where Beifong was going. "As a result, I'm assuming you've heard very little about the Equalist rebellion?"

Now she had Korra's attention. "I guess I hadn't realized it, but no, I haven't heard much about the Equalists recently."

Beifong continued her explanation. "The media's fascination with the kidnappings is working to our favor right now. Citizens are taking more precautions and there hasn't been another abduction since… well, since yours. Furthermore, we haven't been pressured to provide developing information on Amon and the Equalists. But I think some recent events could benefit you: There have been reports of Equalists abducting benders, only to set them free hours later. However, before Amon let them go, he removed their ability to bend. Permanently."

Korra's jaw dropped open. Once she got over the shock she managed to question Beifong's news. "How? How can he take someone's bending away? I thought only the Avatar had the power to do that."

"This is the limit of my knowledge, I'm afraid. We don't know how he does it. He claims the spirits have given him this gift, and honestly, I don't know how it could be the result of anything else."

Korra suddenly found herself feeling lucky. She couldn't imagine her life without her bending. Even though Amon had tried to take that away from her, at least she had been able to recover it. Were the Equalists really this extreme in their beliefs to support such a heinous act? She clearly underestimated Amon and deeply misunderstood his supporters. How much pain had they experienced at the hands of benders for them to encourage such a violation?

"I don't think this newest development will stay quiet for long, even with the focus on the kidnappings, but I thought it might help you," Beifong explained.

"I think I need to speak with Tenzin. Maybe he could help figure out how Amon is doing this," Korra said as she stood up to leave Beifong's office. "Thank you for all your help, Chief Beifong."

After Korra practically sprinted from Beifong's office, and the Chief's shoulders slumped in resignation. In an unusual moment of open anguish, she covered her face with her hands. But the juvenile attempt to hide herself from the world couldn't erase Beifong's overwhelming sense of impending doom. Though she told Korra about the city's obsession with catching the kidnapper, Beifong had perhaps understated the city's true sentiment. Citizens and journalists were practically harassing the Chief and her officers. There were several incidents where teams of photographers had actually ruined undercover sting

And now Beifong would eventually charge the Equalist leader of kidnapping, rape, and murder. The rebels already hated the bender government enough, but after the Chief of Police accused their newfound savior of such crimes… It was going to tear the city apart. If Equalist supporters went on the offensive, how could she ever expect to apprehend Amon? It would be open war on the streets of Republic City. She couldn't stifle reports of Amon removing people's bending, but she could keep Korra's memory under wraps for as long as possible. She would have to plan her moves with extreme care – it wouldn't do for some journalist to break the story of the kidnapper's identity. Beifong couldn't handle the stress of recovering from a public relations nightmare like that.

Squaring her shoulders, Chief Beifong rose from her chair, ready to brief her team on the latest developments concerning the missing girls' possible location. She needed to find the victims now more than ever.

* * *

"Explain to me again why you're continuing to wear this bandage? If you're sporting it this long, couldn't you at least find one that matched your uniform," mocked Tarrlok as he released the offending material from his pinch. "White hardly suits you… well, hardly suits you when it's not covering your face."

Refusing to let his brother bait him, Noatak sighed in hopes of exhaling the frustration bubbling up inside him. "Do you really think I could just visit the healers at the hospital? Or do you see significant similarities between an alleged Equalist rebel attack and polar bear dog bite marks?" Noatak's eerily polar bear dog-like growl proved that Tarrlok could still easily get under his older brother's skin. "If you must know, self-healing is not particularly effortless. However, I'm still quite capable of getting certain jobs done."

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Tarrlok whispered, "Speaking of your array of talents, here comes your latest object waiting to be cleansed..."

Noatak looked over his brother's shoulders and stepped back into the shadows as Tarrlok faced the advancing figure. A snide voice that matched Tarrlok's own sense of self-importance echoed through the darkness. "Honestly, couldn't you find a meeting place that wasn't caked in sewage? I'll never get this sludge out of my shoes," Tahno complained as his steps caused said sewage to squelch beneath his feet.

Completely aware of how long a pretentious individual like Tahno could gripe, the politician suppressed an eye roll. Tarrlok cut to the chase and reminded the young waterbender of their agreement. "I'm sure you could replace them with the money I'm giving you per our little understanding. Now, tell me what you know."

"Yeah, alright," Tahno conceded while trying to waft the smell of waste away his attire. "Yesterday, I had an encounter with the Avatar—"

"Yes, I read the police report," interjected Tarrlok with a smile. "Get to the aspects that didn't find their way onto Beifong's paperwork."

"Anyway, Beifong's men had already dragged me outside, but one of my teammates overheard the Avatar's conversation with her little Fire Ferrets…"

Tahno paused just long enough for Tarrlok to display physical signs of his impatience before continuing. "…And apparently, she believes that her kidnapper is that Equalist leader, Amon."

Keeping his composure, Tarrlok interrogated Tahno further. "What makes her think so?"

Tahno scoffed. "How should I know?"

Tarrlok tried his best to suppress the urge to attack the insolent young man in front of him. Reminding himself of his brother's intentions with Tahno greatly helped in this regard. "Is that all she remembers?"

"I just said that I'm not sure. That's all my teammate heard and that's all I know."

Feeling he'd gotten the most out of Tahno, Tarrlok clapped the young man on the back. "Well, I thank you for coming all the way down here. You understand my precautions, I'm sure. A Councilman has to be careful about his appearance."

"Yeah, whatever. Now give me my money so I can get out of here," whined Tahno as he elegantly shrugged off Tarrlok's arm.

"Oh... I'm afraid there's a slight hiccup concerning your payment." Tarrlok stepped to the side, allowing two Equalists to seize Tahno's arms, while two others delivered rapid blows to his limbs. Effectively chi blocked, Tahno screamed in pain. "What is this?! What's going on?!"

Tahno watched as his feet moved over the thinning layer of sludge. He was being dragged backwards, his shoes leaving a slowly disappearing trail of waste. Before he could take in his surroundings, he was thrown to the ground, his nose making solid contact with the smooth floor beneath him. Despite the stars flashing in front of his eyes, Tahno looked around and shockingly realized that he was on a stage in front of a large audience.

Backstage Noatak had transformed into Amon. With mask in place, he questioned his brother. "Do you think that's all she remembers?"

"Well, if your bloodbending skills have any reputation, then I'd suspect yes. Frankly, I'm surprised she remembers anything at all. This is the first time your little asphyxiation trick hasn't completely erased the event from the victim's mind… Aren't you worried that the great Amon is losing his touch?"

Amon allowed the growing roar from the audience to distract himself from Tarrlok's snide remark, completely missing his brother's genuine concern. Amon didn't know why, but his younger brother seemed to be more irritating than usual. "Well, a rebel leader never rests," Amon's deep voice practically sang with pleasure as he moved towards the stage.

Suddenly, Tarrlok had an idea. "Wait!" he blurted. "Wait, we can use this!" As he closed the distance between himself and Amon, Tarrlok's politician mind quickly formulated a plan. "When you're out there, announce the Avatar's allegation—"

"You're joking, right?" Amon asked, noticeably annoyed.

"No! But spin it as the government's scheme to soil your name. It'll strengthen your followers' resolve, villainize the government, and it will give me the opportunity to wreak havoc on Beifong's investigation all in one go!"

Amon took a moment to consider the plan. He assumed Beifong was waiting for the opportune moment to release the information, so beating her to the punch would destabilize her team for a while. Trusting his brother's strategy, Amon gave a simple nod and stepped onto the stage, almost not noticing the now sniveling waterbender kneeling at its edge. Despite the new plan, something about Tarrlok was still grating on Amon's nerves and he craved the cleansing rush of speaking in front of his followers. He needed their praise, their admiration, their adoration. The mixture of excitement and fear in their eyes told him they truly knew how powerful he was, but more importantly, that they depended on Amon, anticipated his return, and… loved him. Except for his little Avatar…

Realizing that he was no longer thinking about the audience in front of him, Amon forced himself back to the present. He cleared his throat and his steady voice boomed through the speakers.

He raised his arms in greeting. "Good evening, my fellow Equalists."

* * *

After leaving Chief Beifong's office, Korra had gone to Mako and Bolin's apartment instead of Air Temple Island. Tenzin needed to know that Amon was demonstrating his power by publicly removing people's bending, but since she was already in the city, she figured she might as well tell Mako and Bolin. With metalbending guards in toe, Korra sprinted to the apartment at the top of the pro-bending arena and knocked on the front door.

The door swung open. "Korra! What are you doing here? Is everything alright," Mako asked.

"Not exactly. Can I come in?" She moved into the apartment before Mako replied. She couldn't explain it, but she felt anxious standing in the open hallway even with her guards. "Where's Bolin? I need to tell you guys something important."

After Bolin walked into the room, she quickly caught them up on everything Beifong had told her. Their silence would have unhinged Korra, but the tiny radio in the corner filled the room with comforting white noise.

Bolin was the first to speak. "I can't believe it. I mean, I believed your memory of Amon attacking you, Korra. But how can someone's bending be taken away, just like that?"

"I don't know, but it explains why I've had to work so hard to get my own bending back. He must have tried to remove it," Korra speculated.

The static on the radio cracked loudly in a moment of tragic serendipity. When the burst of noise cleared, a smooth voice echoed through the speakers.

_"Good evening, my fellow Equalists."_

"It's Amon!" Bolin shouted.

"Turn it up, turn it up!" Mako demanded. Bolin scrambled to the radio and turned the dial.

_"The Republic Council has grown scared of our revolution. We pose a threat to their corrupt government, and they should fear us. However, the bending oppressors of Republic City wish to stifle our rebellion by discrediting my name in hopes that you will turn on our great movement. As you're all aware, a series of kidnappings has ravaged Republic City. And it has come to my attention that the Avatar has made a claim about the identity of her kidnapper. She would have the citizens of Republic City believe that I am responsible for the recent abductions of no less than ten women."_

Korra's mouth dropped in shock. She hoped that hearing Amon's voice would bring back more memories, but the context of his words delivered a much stronger blow. Beifong needed Korra's memory to be kept a secret! How did this get out so soon?!

The murmuring from Amon's audience could be heard through the radio's speakers. _"The Republic Council wishes for you, my fellow Equalists, to abandon our cause. This cutthroat technique is nothing but a pathetic attempt to squash our rebellion from the inside. Can this corrupt government sink no lower? Will you stand for this injustice? Will you let benders rule over you once and for all?"_ The audience was now at a full roar. Amon's speech was over, but the Equalists controlling the airwaves didn't end the connection – they let the audience's anger flood the speakers.

Jumping up, Korra sputtered, "I need to get back to Chief Beifong. Now! They need to be ready for what sounds like a full-scale riot from the Equalists."

Grabbing his scarf while pulling Bolin to his feet and out of his shocked stupor, Mako followed Korra's path to the door. "We're right behind you!"

In their rush to reach Beifong, they forgot to turn off the radio. A few moments later, Tahno's scream traveled through the radio and echoed off the walls of the empty apartment.

* * *

Korra, Mako, and Bolin rushed towards the police station. As they ran, Korra noticed the streets were strangely empty. Had the Equalists decided not to riot after Amon's announcement? Were benders too scared to exit their homes? Korra didn't know what was happening, but she felt something was wrong.

The team turned down an alleyway. When they exited onto the main street, Bolin noticed a crowd in the distance. "Hey, look! What do you think is going on over there?"

"I don't know, but we should keep moving," Mako announced.

Korra knew she needed to get to the police station, but she couldn't just leave without checking out the situation. "No, let's go, just to make sure everything is ok."

Korra could see the concern in Mako's eyes before he spoke. "Are you sure you're up to something like this. I know your bending has improved, but shouldn't we wait for more officers to show up?"

"I'm fine. Let's just get over there," Korra called behind her as she ran towards the crowd.

As they approached the throng of people, the team heard Tarrlok's commanding voice. "If you all cooperate, this process will be much easier!" Once close enough, Korra noticed that she wasn't advancing toward a crowd; it was a chain gang. Tarrlok's metalbenders were slapping handcuffs and ankle irons on at least one hundred citizens, including terrified women still clutching their young children.

Furious, Korra flung herself towards the councilman. "Tarrlok, what are you doing?!"

Tarrlok turned towards the Avatar's voice. "Hello, Avatar Korra. Lovely to see you again."

The man did know how to piss off people. "Answer the question, Tarrlok!"

His smile lost a bit of its spark. "Well, if it needs explaining... I am arresting these people."

Fuming and pouting, Korra prodded further. "But why? What have they all done?"

"Given the most recent developments regarding the Equalist leader Amon, we are taking preventative measures against what's sure to be a violent rebellion."

Korra couldn't believe what she was hearing. "By arresting people en masse off the street?! That's ridiculous! You're just doing what the Equalists expect you to do: suppress them!" If Tarrlok went through with this, an Equalist rebellion wasn't a possibility; it was inevitable. She couldn't let him do this!

Clearly annoyed, Tarrlok pushed his way past Korra. "Step aside, Avatar. You're obviously unable to comprehend the intricacies of the judiciary system." Korra glared at Tarrlok's back, then turned her attention to Bolin and Mako. She signaled them with a small nod, and the three sprung into action. Bending water from a nearby fountain, Korra snaked a string of water around the handcuffs of the people directly in front of her. With the first row's cuffs covered, she froze the liquid, and then shattered the metal. She looked up to see Bolin and Mako also breaking links with their earth and firebending, but not quickly enough.

The brothers had only broken a few metal chains when Tarrlok noticed. Snarling, he yelled at the metalbenders. "Arrest those men and load them into the airship with the others!" Though they were Korra's bodyguards, the metalbenders closest to Mako and Bolin knew they had to obey the councilman's order, and they quickly wrapped the brothers in metal links.

"Korra!" Bolin yelled as he struggled against his bonds.

Korra sprinted toward Mako and Bolin intending to release them. "Have you completely lost your mind, Tarrlok?!"

"They were interfering with police business, and if you keep this up, I will not hesitate to arrest you as well, Avatar," Tarrlok spat. "What's your move?"

Korra paused. One part of her wanted to tear the chains from her friends' limbs, but another part knew Tarrlok's threat was sincere. Voicing the only reasonable course of action, Mako cried, "Korra, don't do it! It's not worth it. Go to Beifong; she'll know what to do! We'll be fine."

Korra knew she couldn't take on Tarrlok and his officers alone, but she hated to see Mako and Bolin so helpless. Pulling her brows together determinedly, she resigned to Mako's reasoning. Giving the prisoners one last look, she turned and continued her sprint towards the police station.

Before she was even a block away, she heard Tarrlok's voice. "I don't care if her child is crying, load them into the airship. Now!"

She stopped running. Though it wasn't logical, she couldn't just let Tarrlok do this.

Korra shifted directions, hiding behind the fountain she utilized earlier. She forced herself to wait for the right moment. In a few minutes all the prisoners and most of the police officers were on the airship. Finally with Tarrlok's back facing her, Korra raised a pool of water and sent it hurtling towards the councilman. Sensing the attack at the last moment, Tarrlok twisted out of the way, the water only grazing one arm.

Tarrlok spun around, looking for the source of the attack. He heard his officers running to his defense just before he saw Korra take a defiant bending stance. Addressing his officers, Tarrlok stopped them with the gesture of one hand. "No, get back on the airship and take the prisoners. I'll handle the girl."

Seeing the metalbenders quickly board the departing airship, Korra ran towards it, determined to bring it back to the ground. Suddenly, a layer of frozen water shot at Korra and closed around her feet. With her limbs frozen to the ground, she fell forward, almost smashing her face on the gravel. Glaring back at Tarrlok, Korra kicked his frozen attack off her feet while simultaneously blasting a mound of rocks at him.

Tarrlok diverted the rocks with a wave of water and glanced at the airship. It was now safely away from the Avatar and the street was dead quiet. It was finally time to show this girl the respect his brother clearly failed to impart. "Enough!"

Korra's body went rigid and her blood fought to pump through her veins. She tried to attack Tarrlok, but she couldn't move! Tarrlok's terrifying grip jerked her limbs into painfully grotesque angles as he slowly floated her body closer to him. Tarrlok's hand started to close into a fist and she felt her lungs seize. This feeling was frighteningly familiar… She suddenly remembered lying on her back while struggling for air. She remembered not being able to move, just like her present state of immobility… Then it dawned on her: Amon had bloodbent her!

Panic sang through her body.

_Oh my spirits! Tarrlok is Amon!_

"I told you to stay out of it, Avatar, but you left me no choice." Tarrlok's eyes gleamed with rage as Korra struggled against his hold. She didn't know what he was going to do to her, but she knew her life was in danger. She continued her attempt to fight him off with renewed vigor. Laughing, Tarrlok taunted, "Do you really think you can overpower me? You may have gotten away once, but I promise it won't happen again—"

"Let her go, Tarrlok!"

Korra's widened eyes looked over Tarrlok's shoulder. It was Beifong! The Police Chief shot her metal cables at the councilman and ensnared his hands. Beifong retracted the cables, breaking Tarrlok's hold on Korra who dropped to the ground. Yet, before Beifong could proceed with her attack, Tarrlok used his bloodbending to capture her. He watched the metalbender's cables limply fall to the ground. Ignoring his disarrayed strands of hair, Tarrlok whipped his head towards the Avatar and easily regained his hold on her as well. His arms spread as Tarrlok held each woman on either side of his body. Turning his head back and forth to glare at each woman in turn, Tarrlok slowly brought his hands together. With Beifong and Korra frozen before him, he slowly pulled them closer to his body.

Korra glanced at Beifong, who seemed to be no closer to breaking free from Tarrlok's grasp than she was. The councilman's voice brought Korra's attention back to the crazed man in front of her.

"Will you two never learn? Is this really what it takes for the likes of you to appreciate power? Pathetic…"

Beifong struggled to speak against Tarrlok's grip. "You'll… never…"

With a mocking sneer on his face, Tarrlok cocked his head to the side. "I'm sorry, what was that?" The stray hairs that had worked free from Tarrlok's braids framed his face in a well-crafted portrait of madness. Combined with his eerie smile, Korra was truly terrified.

Beifong managed to finish her sentence. "You'll…never… win, you… monster."

Tarrlok let loose a manic laugh. "Oh, watch me."

Just as Beifong felt Tarrlok force the air from her lungs, smoke grenades fell from the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. The smoke quickly grew thicker, and Korra lost sight of both Tarrlok and Beifong. She briefly felt relief as Tarrlok's grip broke, but her deep coughs for air only pulled smoke into her lungs. Stumbling and unable to breathe, Korra fell on all fours. She was slowly trying to crawl away from the heaviest areas of smoke when she felt two arms wrap around her torso. She was jerked upward, but the arms supported her as they both ran across the street and collapsed against the side of a building. Finally clear of the smoke, Korra looked up at her rescuer. Unsurprisingly, it was Beifong.

As they both gulped down deep breaths of clean air, neither woman needed to look back – they knew Tarrlok was gone.

* * *

_AN: Ooooh, Amon is going to be so pissed at Tarrlok. _

_I'm quite aware that I jumped ship on the action scenes. I'm a bit afraid of trying to describe action at length. Forgive me._

_Title is from "The Glorious Nosebleed" by Circa Survive. Shit's getting crazy and I felt like turning up the experimental rock._


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: Don't forget to check out my Tumblr for the playlist to this fanfic. I have a particular fondness for the origins of this chapter's inspired title. I didn't edit/revise this chapter as closely as others (hint: please message me if you spot any distracting typos!) because I really just want you guys to have this fic in its entirety. Only two more chapters to go!_

* * *

Chapter 10 – "Alate Ardor"

_~*~The next day…~*~_

The city was on the verge of war. The innocents that Tarrlok arrested accused the government of corruption. Benders were frightened and either hid or openly retaliated against supposed Equalists. Beifong and her metalbenders were constantly patrolling the streets to maintain order and the lack of manpower left no available officers to track down Tarrlok. He had disappeared and no one has seen him since his escape.

Korra couldn't stand it. If Beifong couldn't hunt him down, then Korra would do it herself. Unfortunately she didn't know where to start looking. Plus, Bolin and Mako were still in the process of being released from prison. Even with her status as the Avatar, the high demand for police on the streets meant that the prisons were low on employees. Subsequently, Korra failed to expedite her friends' release.

She felt a terrible combination of helplessness and anger. Only the true depth of her powerlessness could lead to her current location: the meditation pavilion. Quite actually her last resort, Korra saw no other way to possibly track down Tarrlok. If she could remember anything about her kidnapping, maybe she could find his hideout. Surely that's where he was. What better place to hide?

Korra tried to push these thoughts from her mind as she dropped her shoulders and took a deep breath.

_Relax. Just relax. Breathe in and out. And relax. What if Tarrlok isn't hiding where he's keeping the girls? No, no. Relax. Ok, good. Breathe in and out. And we're relaxing. Yes, so relaxed. What if he's shut up in some penthouse, watching us scurry around below him? No! Just relax, ok?!_

Korra sighed and thumped her head onto the floor of the gazebo. "This isn't working," she whined.

"Mind if I join you?"

Without looking up, Korra grumbled, "No, take a seat, Tenzin. Plenty of floor to go around."

She heard the rustle of his air bender attire accompanied by the very distinct sound of a sigh. "Korra, you've always struggled with meditation –"

"Thank you for that reminder."

The airbending master continued without acknowledging Korra's sarcastic outburst. "If you're trying to force yourself into a meditative state to reach some specific end result – like the location of Tarrlok's hideout – you're not going to effectively clear your mind. You're putting too much pressure on yourself."

Korra raised her torso upright. "Then why did you have me meditating a few days ago?"

"I hadn't considered the depth of your spiritual troubles. That was my mistake," Tenzin admitted as he sat down across from Korra.

With tears forming in her eyes, Korra confessed, "Tenzin, I don't know what to do. I'm… I'm so scared."

"I know you are. But I also know that you can do this. You are a terribly skilled young woman and you need to trust yourself."

Despite its simplicity, she couldn't remember having ever received a better compliment. Feeling more confident with herself and supported with Tenzin across from her, Korra closed her eyes again. She listened to the wind rustling through the leaves, the sound of water crashing against the beach. She felt her breathing fall in rhythm with the island. And then she felt her breath catch in her lungs. She couldn't breathe!

"It's ok Korra, I'm right here. You're ok," Tenzin's voice soothed.

_I'm meditating! Oh! Ok, relax. That's right._

Relaxing her mind, Korra let the physical pain of memory come back to her. She realized her breathing was labored not because Tarrlok was bloodbending her, but because there was a hand over her mouth – his hand! His other had her arms pinned above her head while he… oh, spirits. He was kissing her neck. Korra's body tensed at this realization.

_Oh, please tell me he didn't…_

"Relax, Korra."

Holding onto Tenzin's comforting voice, Korra tried to ease her clenched muscles.

_"Don't worry. You need your rest. Goodnight, my little Avatar."_

She registered the hardness of his mask against her neck. She didn't need to see it – Korra knew the mask very well. And then she felt his thumb on her forehead. What had to be only one second in real time, Korra now felt it in slow motion. Tarrlok's bending traveled from his thumb and into Korra's body; it was almost like they were connected, if only for a split second. Then everything went black.

Korra opened her eyes and met Tenzin's worried orbs. "Well? What did you see?"

"I remembered…" Korra paused. She didn't know if she could describe her memory to Tenzin. Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself. "I remembered lying on a bed—" she saw Tenzin's back straighten further, if possible "—and he was kissing me."

"Do you remember anything about your surroundings?" She knew Tenzin was trying to give Korra the option of avoiding something she didn't want to talk about, while still trying to extract useful information.

"I don't… I don't know. I think I was focusing on the ceiling… it was stone…"

"Like a cave?"

"No, no. It was square blocks of stone, definitely manmade."

"Was there a window? A door? Could you see anything outside the room?"

Shaking her head, Korra answered, "No. Nothing. It was dark. Really dark. And… cold. Even though I had blankets on top of me, the air was so cold… Oh! I remember there was ice forming in the corner!"

"Korra, this is great. So, we're looking for a basement of some kind. And it's probably north of the city, toward the mountains."

Korra recalled a different memory. "Mountains? Wasn't Aki's body found near the mountains? Yeah! I remember looking at the mountains when we were at the crime scene."

Tenzin thought about this. "Yes, I believe she was found a few miles west of the mountains. That would have made it easy for Tarrlok to transport her there before killing her."

The sound of Tarrlok's name caused Korra to think about him – more specifically, his bloodbending. Something felt off… She thought about the memory again and tried to pay attention to the last few seconds. His control over her and his touch almost felt like – she gulped at the thought – like, a lover. It was nothing like his bloodbending on the streets of Republic City the day before. It was powerful, yes, but so full of hatred….

"Tenzin… I don't think Tarrlok is Amon."

"What?! What do you mean," questioned a flabbergasted Tenzin.

"The bloodbending in the memory felt… different than Tarrlok's bloodbending yesterday. They were somehow driven by different emotions, different… different people," rambled Korra.

"But didn't Tarrlok admit to being Amon?"

"No, he acknowledged that I'd once gotten away, but he never said he was Amon…"

Then it hit her.

"Oh, Tenzin! I think there's two of them. Tarrlok is only one of the kidnappers and Amon is the other—"

Tenzin finished Korra's thought. "—which means we don't know who Amon is."

* * *

_~*~Later that day…~*~_

"I know it sounds crazy and it is only more work for you, but, Beifong, you've got to believe me! There are two kidnappers! They're working together. Maybe that's how Tarrlok was able to take so many girls and maintain his public face. He had help—"

"They each have their public lives: Tarrlok's political career and Amon's revolution, but they were also abducting Republic City's women in their downtime. It's some kind of hobby for them. They're collecting—"

"Oh! And I remembered where I was kept when I was taken. It was somewhere cold—"

"We think they're in some house in the mountains. We need to go now if we have any hope of saving those girls—"

"If we could just use a few more of your men—"

Beifong slammed both fists on her desk. "Enough! Both of you!" Korra and Tenzin clamped their mouths shut.

"So you're telling me that Tarrlok isn't Amon? And that there's now another kidnapper, whose identity is unknown? AND that you want me to abandon the city for some hike across the mountains?"

Korra looked to Tenzin for guidance. Beifong was practically a landmine of stress and Korra had no intention of handling her.

"Yyyyes… That's what we're saying, in so many words," Tenzin practically whispered. Clearly he was also worried about fallout from the Beifong bomb.

"I barely have enough men to maintain some level of peace on the streets and you're asking me leave? You must be out of your minds!" Suddenly regretting the last bit of her outburst, Beifong plopped into her chair. "I apologize. I know you think you're on the right track, but I can't just up and leave the citizens of this city. Not when it's about to implode on itself… Perhaps I could free up a few of my men. Would that help?"

Korra's eyes shifted back and forth. Ever since her "guards" obeyed Tarrlok and arrested Mako and Bolin, Korra simply didn't trust the city's officers. Beifong was so busy, and she hadn't yet noticed that the Avatar wasn't being protected by metalbenders since Tarrlok's attack. But Korra wanted Beifong on her search party. The Chief of Police was a determined fighter and Korra knew she could trust her, but she wasn't going to risk another sabotage. It was either Beifong or no one.

Before Korra could answer the question, Beifong had picked up the phone on her desk. As she dialed a number she explained to Korra and Tenzin, "I can try to redistribute some of my teams. Maybe I could free up one or two officers." Beifong then barked into the receiver. "Lieutenant! Get up to my office at once!"

"Oh," she continued, "I was able to get your teammates, Mako and Bolin, out. They should be downstairs by the time you two leave my office."

Korra let the wave of relief wash over her. Even if she wasn't planning on hunting down Amon and Tarrlok, she needed Mako and Bolin by her side. Maybe with her teammates and Tenzin, she really could rescue Asami and the others…

Just then, three knocks sounded on the other side of Beifong's door. "Get in here!" she bellowed. Korra unconsciously sunk into her chair, attempting to hide from Beifong's wrath.

Even though she was facing Beifong, Korra felt the Lieutenant's presence right behind her. For some reason she felt… uneasy, and she couldn't bring herself to turn around and look at Beifong's right hand man.

"You wanted to see me, Chief?"

"Yes," snapped Beifong. "I need you to delegate someone to run operations on the west side of the city. Then, you'll join me on the east side so that I can free up a few of my men there."

"Why the sudden redistribution?" he inquired in an unperturbed and smooth voice.

"Avatar Korra believes she knows Tarrlok's whereabouts. Since I need to oversee things here, I'm sending her off with a few men."

"I see. I'll get right on it, Chief Beifong. Just out of curiosity, where should I tell the men they're headed?"

Korra may have been unable to voice her distrust of Beifong's men, but she wasn't going to let this lieutenant become privy to her plans. Despite the inkling of discomfort, Korra turned to face him… well, turned to face the dark of Lieutenant Noatak's hood. "We can easily tell the officers when they report to us. I know you trust this man, Beifong, but isn't it best to keep this operation as secret as possible?" Though she couldn't see where the Lieutenant was looking, she arched a daring eyebrow in the direction of his face nonetheless. Korra thought she saw the Lieutenant's body briefly tense, but Beifong's voice drew her attention back to the Chief.

"Just go, Noatak. And hurry. I need to get back out there." Beifong offered nothing further than a simple shoo-ing gesture to her closest officer, who promptly exited the room.

"I can tell him to send the men downstairs to meet you. That way you can assemble your team all in one place." Beifong started to check over her metalbending weaponry, ensuring that she was ready to patrol the streets again. Taking the hint, Korra and Tenzin stood to leave.

"Thank you for everything, Beifong. We'll report back to you when we're done searching for the night," Korra explained.

"Just…be careful. I know you feel passionately about this, and rightly so, but it's only been a week since you were taken. Are you sure you're up to this?"

Korra was thrown off by Beifong sudden concern. Though the Chief of Police was incredibly stressed and therefore feisty, Korra knew they had formed some strange bond after Tarrlok's attack. Korra wasn't so naïve to think she was invincible. In fact, since her kidnapping, Korra was very aware of her mortality. But she couldn't stand the thought of Asami suffering from who knows what kind of tortures. Another thought had been slowly growing in Korra's mind: what if Tarrlok and Amon were killed or apprehended? Would they reveal the location of their hideout or would they let Asami and the others rot in the icy cold of their stone rooms? Korra had to do this, and she had to do it fast. "Yes, I am sure."

"You forget, Lin. I'll be right there with her," Tenzin reassured.

Hearing her first name silenced her, and Beifong merely nodded in acceptance. The three walked down to the atrium of the building together, where Bolin and Mako were waiting for Korra. Upon seeing the two, she broke into a run and gathered the brothers in a forceful group hug, practically lifting the two off their feet.

"Hey, Korra! Nice to see you, too," exclaimed Mako.

"I… can't… breathe!" chocked Bolin.

"Oh! Sorry," Korra laughed while releasing her teammates. "Listen, I remembered something about my kidnapping and I think I know where Asami and the others are being kept."

Mako's eyes shot open in surprise. "What? How?"

"I'll explain everything on the way! We're going into the mountains and," she continued, lowering her voice, "I want to get out of here before the lieutenant arrives with more officers. I just don't trust them."

Unconsciously rubbing the red chain marks on his wrists, Bolin quickly agreed. "Good. I'm still harboring some ill feelings about them myself."

"Come on. I think Tenzin's out front. We better get moving," Korra instructed and the three quickly exited the station.

Across the foyer, Noatak caught fragments of their conversation. Though he hadn't heard everything, he knew they were heading for the mountains. He left the building a few paces behind Team Avatar, and then turned down the alley beside the police station.

He would easily get to the cabin before the Avatar stumbled upon it – _if_ she stumbled upon it. He traveled there and back almost everyday. That would give him plenty of time to clean up this mess that Tarrlok caused…

* * *

Asami shivered beneath her blankets. They did little to keep out the cold anymore. Her body felt frozen from the inside out. Screams plagued her mind. When he wasn't in the room, the memory of unwanted hands caressing her blurred into the same hands striking her body into semi-paralysis. She wasn't even a bender and he still repeatedly chi blocked her. Was it just for his enjoyment? Did he like watching her writhe in pain? Hands. Hands. Phantom hands that felt like they never left. Would they ever leave? Would she ever leave this place? Then there was the other one… the one that _needed_ to see her suffer in unimaginable ways.

She heard the lock on her door click open and she automatically closed her eyes. Pretending to be asleep never worked, but she couldn't help but try, if only to distance herself from him. After a few days in the dark, the blinding light from the hallway burned her eyes. And the silhouette it casted on the dark figure burned into her soul.

The missing sound of the door closing caught Asami off guard. Why wasn't he shutting them in the tiny room together like he usually did? Daring a glance, Asami cracked her eyes open. She jumped, realizing he was crouching by her face. This was the other one – the one that didn't wear a mask. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember his name. She still recognized his face, but today his dark skin was brighter and his eyes were almost frantic. Something's different, she thought. Not that she ever considered him to be the most sane person she'd ever met, but something in his eyes told her that he was slipping… Something bad has happened, and she dreaded what this meant for her. If he liked to watch her suffer when he was in a good mood, she didn't want to think about the pain he'd inflict when he was upset or angry…

"Oh, good. You are awake. Time to get up then."

Asami's weak body could only muster a feeble groan as he pulled her out of the bed and to her feet. Roughly shoving her towards the door, she gasped, "Where are you taking me?" before she collapsed onto the floor. The trauma she'd enduring during the past week made her head spin. She was seeing two of everything and waves of nausea rocked through her body.

"Get up!"

Her legs shook and Asami was barely able to lift her torso off the ground, much less stand up or walk. She heard his disappointed sigh and braced herself for the blow she knew was coming.

"So useless without me, aren't you?"

Asami's body seized under his bloodbending. Her body twitched in weak protest as he moved her through the doorway. They had only gone a few feet from her room when a smooth voice echoed down the stone hallway.

"Put her down, Tarrlok. Now."

* * *

_AN: Title is on WEEP's album "Alate." Google it. Enjoy it. Buy it. Fall in love with the God that is Doc Hammer, like I have. Sorry for the cliffhanger (kind of… not really). The next chapter will pick up right where this one left off (kind of… not really)._


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: So sorry for the delay. Only one more chapter after this, and then I shall never toy with your posting expectations again! Or, at least until I'm done with grad school in two months. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story. I don't ask for reviews, so I really appreciate those readers who have taken the time to share their thoughts. Love you forever 3_  
_Character death in this chapter. A major one. Remember all the good feelings you had for me/this story before this chapter! *runs away and hides from the fangirl wrath*_

* * *

Chapter 11 – "This Killer"

Korra leaned against a snow-covered tree for support. Her limbs ached from traipsing through the rocky terrain, she couldn't catch her breath at this altitude, and now, her vision was starting to spin. She had to give it to Tarrlok and Amon: this was an excellent location for a hideout. The snowfall covered their tracks and it was miles of rough hiking from Republic City.

_If Naga hadn't found me…_

She shook her head, refusing to take the thought further. The sound of boots crunching on snow sounded to her right.

"Hey," Bolin huffed as he placed a comforting hand on Korra's shoulder. "Are you ok? Should we call it a night and come back tomorrow?"

They had been searching for hours and it was getting dark. She doubted their searching would be useful after nightfall, but she was determined to push herself onward.

Korra turned her eyes to her companion. "Yeah, I just need to catch my breath. How much ground have we covered?"

Bolin removed his arm from Korra's shoulder and pulled out a map from his pocket. "Well, we've searched through these two areas, here," he explained while indicating spaces on the parchment with his finger. "Tenzin and Mako are over here and should be back soon. Which leaves almost everything to the east."

They had barely covered a tenth of the map, and this particular map only showed a section of the mountain range that spanned north of the city. Refusing to look as hopeless as she felt in that moment, Korra straightened her shoulders and pushed herself off the tree. "Ok, let's at least work our way over to this clearing. Then we can call it a night."

She and Bolin weaved through the trees, which were getting more and more dense the farther they walked. Neither said anything, both choosing to conserve their lungpower. After a few minutes, Korra pushed a patch of branches aside and saw the clearing. The trees were sparse and she realized that the clearing dropped into a steep cliff edge. She and Bolin carefully approached the edge and looked down. It was a solid drop. A huge, solid drop down. She doubted anyone could survive the fall. Korra gulped and while looking down, she allowed her head to lightly swim from the dizzying height. Then she remembered…

She looked over her shoulder and remembered where Amon stood as he tried to coax her away from this very same cliff edge. It was almost like she was watching the scene take place in front of her. The hooded figure seemed perfectly at peace; his body was squared, his breathing was even. He was domination incarnate. But it was all so hazy… Was she making this up? Did she just _want_ this place to be familiar to her?

Noticing the concerned look on Korra's face, Bolin asked if she was ok as he slowly guided her away from the edge of the cliff. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm…I'm not sure. I think I've been here before when I was trying to escape Amon…"

Bolin's eyes lit up. "That means we're close!"

* * *

"Put her down, Tarrlok. Now."

Without releasing his hold on Asami, Tarrlok turned toward his brother's voice. He couldn't see where Noatak was, but Tarrlok knew he was there, hiding in the shadows.

"Why should I? She's one of mine, and I'm taking her with me." Looking at Asami, he asked her, "Don't you want to come with me, sweet girl?" He raised a hand and forced her to nod, like some perverted puppet master. His crazed laugh filled the hallway.

"Do you really think you'll get very far?" interrupted Noatak's smooth voice form down the hall. "The girl's dead weight and I hate to break this to you, brother, but the Avatar is searching the mountainside as we speak."

This genuinely surprised Tarrlok. How had the Avatar gotten this close? "And you think that's my fault?" Tarrlok snarled. "I wasn't the one who decided to kidnap the Avatar! I wasn't the one who _let her escape_!"

Though Tarrlok knew how to push his brothers buttons, Noatak didn't take the bait. He needed Tarrlok to see reason. They needed each other if they were going to make it out of here alive.

"Not only did you bloodbend the Avatar, but also the fucking Chief of Police in the open street, Tarrlok! What did you think was going to happen afterwards?"

Tarrlok growled in pained frustration, completely ignorant of Asami's dull whimpers. "I was showing them my power! They needed to know that I was more powerful than some pathetic excuse for an Avatar!"

Now Noatak understood. And it pissed him off. His brother blew their cover for some egotistical demonstration?! At least when he needed worship, Noatak turned into Amon or came to the cabin for indulgence. But he was always covering his tracks, going through the painstaking process of hiding behind layers of masks and personas. He though Tarrlok understood, but his actions in the street clearly showed that he only cared for himself. Noatak felt years of suppressed emotions bubbling up and out of himself. Tarrlok wasn't the only one who could push buttons…

"Do you understand how little your petty act of defiance even registers, Tarrlok? And to what end? To make your mundane, inconsequential life mean something? You want to feel, is that it? Feel needed, worth it? Tired of you older brother finally taking hold of Republic City, always dominating over things you could only dream of controlling? You want to fucking matter? Well, you don't! You don't fucking matter. And forever, no matter how hard you work, how many futile sacrifices you make, how deeply you commit, you know it will always be another hand that feeds you. My hand. Just as it always has been. And now you have designs on what? Shifting your dependency?" Noatak scoffed. "How numbingly predictable."

Tarrlok's blood had been boiling during his brother's tirade. Unable to control his temper, he released Asami from his hold and her body limply slapped against the wet stone floor. The sound caught Tarrlok's attention. Glaring down the hall where his brother was hiding, Tarrlok bent the water from the floor and walls. He shot the surprisingly large wave of water towards Noatak, who easily split the attack in half, allowing his body to pass through unharmed. Unfortunately, the water crashed onto wall behind Noatak with terrifying force.

The floor began to rattle. The bare light bulbs swung from the rafters as small pieces of the ceiling and walls crumbled. Asami thought her mind was just reeling from her most recent drop, but suddenly the ground gave a violent shake. She saw Tarrlok fall to the ground beside her, and she only had one thought before losing consciousness:

_What is happening?!_

* * *

Korra's ears picked up a rumbling in the distance. "Bolin, listen. What's that sound? Do you hear that?"

Bolin closed his eyes and tried to focus his hearing. "That grumbling sound? Yeah, I hear it… Is it an avalanche?"

"I don't know." Korra looked down the cliff to see if they had caused the snow to shift below them, but nothing looked disturbed.

"Look! Over there! It is an avalanche!"

Korra turned to where Bolin was pointing. Not far away on the next hill, she watched the gathering snow pick up speed and hurl down the mountainside. Looking upward, she noticed something… a small brown shape, just above where the avalanche started. It was a cabin!

"Bolin! Do you see that cabin over there?"

Bolin looked over. Upon noticing the cabin, he grunted. Had it really taken an avalanche for the pair to find the cabin? "Yeah, I do now! Do you think that's the hideout?"

Korra knew the cabin wasn't too far away from the clearing. She couldn't remember her escape, but she didn't think it would have been an impossible distance to cover on foot, even in her weakened state. If she had enough adrenaline during her breakout, she could have stumbled her way from the cabin to this cliff.

_This could be it…_

Before she could answer, Mako, Tenzin, and Oogi came into the clearing. The ever-concerned airbending master asked, "Are you two ok? We heard an avalanche coming from this direction and figured we should check it out."

"We're fine. But look over there," Korra instructed as she pointed towards the cabin. "I think we found the hideout."

Surprising, without any further deliberation, Tenzin commanded, "Quick! Let's move!"

The group climbed onto Oogi's back and they were in front of the cabin in no time. Korra was glad for the short flight. She was worried that if she thought about re-entering the cabin for too long, she would be too terrified to continue.

The cabin itself was in another small clearing, with thick forest trees on three sides. The fourth side faced a cliff. It the building had been set farther back from the edge and surrounded by trees, Korra doubted they would have ever found it. The group remained hidden by the dense trees, but even from this distance, Korra could see through the cabin's wooden planks. It was hardly built for comfortable living. But then again, she thought, it wasn't being used for living. It was a prison. And they needed to break into it.

Tenzin's commanding voice interrupted her thoughts. "Ok, Korra said she was surrounded by stones, so I'm guessing they are keeping the girls in some kind of basement below the cabin. Our primary goal should be to free the women and avoid a fight with Amon and Tarrlok if we can. These are two powerful bloodbenders and if they're both here, they could easily take us down."

Korra slowly nodded in agreement. The thought of losing control of her body again sent a chill down her spine. She didn't want to admit it, but she was petrified of going back into the cabin. Her memories were still fuzzy, but she knew enough… Those silver eyes that seemed to watch Korra from the back of her mind always reminded her of her terror. Forcing those silver eyes as far away as possible, she thought of Asami. Korra had to get her friend out of there, no matter how scared she was.

Squaring her shoulders, Korra started approaching the cabin. "Alright, let's go."

Tenzin moved in front of Korra, determined to be the first to enter the cabin, while Mako and Bolin followed behind Korra on either side. All four cautiously walked across the porch, quietly moving their feet over the decayed wood. Tenzin grabbed hold of the doorknob, took a deep breath, and silently pushed the door open.

Korra followed Tenzin, stepping over the threshold and looking around the room at the same time. It was completely empty. No furniture, no wall decorations, nothing. Just dusty floorboards. After taking a few steps, Korra noticed the dust had been disturbed in some areas. There were faint footprints leading into the next room. She pointed them out to Tenzin, who nodded and followed the trail of footprints. While Korra followed close behind Tenzin, Bolin took a wider path as he observed his surroundings. Not observant enough, Bolin didn't notice a slightly upturned floorboard. As his foot caught on it, a section of the floor slid back and a hole suddenly appeared. It was a trap!

Unable to steady himself, Bolin fell right through the chasm with a yell. Though the drop wasn't more than twenty feet, he landed on his ankle and the audible crack of his bone breaking echoed off the stone walls.

"Bolin!" Mako screamed after his brother, uncaring of the level of his voice. "Bolin! Can you hear me?!"

Groaning, Bolin rose to a sitting position. He tenderly grazed his fingers over his injured ankle and was rewarded with a bolt of pain shooting through his leg. "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I broke my ankle, though."

Korra shared a panicked look with Tenzin. Their position was given away. If Amon and Tarrlok were in the cabin, they surely knew that Team Avatar was with them as well.

* * *

Tarrlok's head ached from its recent smack onto the floor, but at least the seismic tremor seemed to have finally ceased. Shaking his head to dislodge his double vision, Tarrlok started to rise to his feet only to notice Noatak standing above him. He glanced at the girl, but she appeared to be unconscious.

Glaring at his older brother, Tarrlok spat, "You want to take me out? Then here's your chance! Do it!"

Noatak was angry, fiercely so, but he didn't want to kill his brother. Though he'd behaved foolishly, Tarrlok was his blood, his partner. Noatak knew that without him, the loneliness would be unbearable. They fit together, forming a twisted brotherhood of unlimited desire, and no one else could understand that. They needed each other. As Noatak helped his brother back onto his feet, they heard a _bang!_ somewhere above them, followed by screams.

_"Bolin! Bolin! Can you hear me?!"_

Noatak saw a childlike fear flash across Tarrlok's eyes. "The Avatar! They're here!"

Taking command of the situation, Noatak barked, "Go! Go out the back! I'll be right behind you." He watched Tarrlok run down the hallway and turned back just in time to see Tenzin reach the bottom steps at the opposite end.

The airbender saw a figure standing over Asami's body. Preparing to strike, he ordered, "Step back! Get away from the girl!" But he was too slow. Before Tenzin could send forth one blast of air, his body froze. Tenzin painfully struggled against the viselike hold, but was unable to break through the powerful grasp.

"He said to get away from her!" screamed a voice from behind Tenzin's billowing cape. Stepping in front of her airbending master, Korra slammed her foot onto the ground, sending a wave of stone towards the hooded bloodbender. Noatak was utterly surprised and her bending sent him flying to the end of the hallway, where his body slammed against the wall.

Korra ran forward and slid to her knees at the girl's side. Reaching forward to push the dark strands of hair from the girl's face, Korra recognized her friend. "Tenzin! It's Asami!"

Released from the bloodbender's hold, Tenzin ran towards Asami and Korra. He swiftly inspected the girl. "She's alive, Korra."

Almost as soon as a wave of immense relief washed over her, Korra felt something more powerful take hold: vengeance. Springing into action, Korra bounded down the hallway, determined to finish off whoever she hit moments earlier. She didn't know if it was Tarrlok or Amon, but she would catch him. But when she got to the end, she realized it was in fact a dead end and there was nobody there, only a pile of stones, rubble no doubt caused by her own attack.

_He had to have escaped somehow! I cannot let them just get away!_

She ran back to Tenzin, who was slowly carrying Asami towards the stairs. "Tenzin, I've got to stop him! Get Asami and the others to Oogi! I'm going after him!" She blocked out Tenzin's yells of protest as she sprinted up the staircase. When she got to the top, she realized the house was empty. Where was Mako?

She crossed the room and knelt by the hole in the floor. "Bolin, are you still ok?"

"Um, I guess. Did you find Asami? Also, can you get me out please? It's cold down here."

Ignoring his complaint, she demanded, "Yes, Tenzin's with her. Where's Mako? He didn't follow us downstairs."

"I don't know. He was right where you are just a second ago, but then he ran off."

_Mako must have seen whoever I hit fleeing. Spirits, he wasn't trying to fight the monster on his own, was he?_

Korra got up and bolted for the front door. Once outside, she saw Mako in a bending stance in front of the cabin. Sprinting to take her place beside him, Korra asked, "Did you see him? He tried to bloodbend Tenzin, and before I could take him down, he somehow got away."

Mako didn't make eye contact with Korra. Instead, his eyes bolted around the trees surrounding the cabin. "I felt someone bloodbend me for a few minutes, maybe a few seconds, I don't know. But then it just stopped. I know he's still out there, though…"

Korra pressed her back against Mako's and they slowly turned in a circle. She had only seen one man in the basement below the cabin, but could Tarrlok and Amon both be in the woods? Could they both be watching her and Mako? Pushing those thoughts away, Korra focused on the logistics of the situation…

Tarrlok and Amon could either run for the mountains on the backside of the cabin or they could head for the trees on the front side. Korra was willing to bet the two would choose the forest over the mountains (Republic City was on the other side of the forest, after all). If her assessment was correct, then she and Mako were sure to spot them. Just as Korra was looking towards the side of the cabin that faced the cliff, she saw them: two figures silhouetted by the setting sun, running towards the trees. "There!" she shouted.

Mako turned and shot a cascade of fire towards the cliff. The flames went between the two figures, causing the one behind to run directly into the flames. He stumbled backwards with a yell, Mako's fire obviously hitting its target, just as Korra turned the snow beneath the figure's feet into ice. She intended to freeze his legs to the ground (and then his arms after he fell to prevent him from bloodbending), but she miscalculated her attack. Instead of freezing to the ground, the figure's feet stepped onto the newly formed ice. His momentum before the attack caused him to lose his balance, and he slid toward the cliff edge at an alarming speed.

As Mako and Korra ran towards him, Tenzin and Bolin stepped onto the porch and rapidly joined the action. Despite his broken ankle, Bolin limped after Korra and Mako while Tenzin charged after the other man who was now running into the forest.

As Korra neared the cliff, she saw the figure slide over the edge. "No!" she shouted. Careful not to fly over the edge herself, Korra slowed her pace and leaned over the cliff with Mako holding onto the back of her shirt for support. To her surprise, Tarrlok was holding onto the cliff with one charred hand.

_He can't die like this! He knows who Amon is! And he deserves to be punished for what he's done..._

Korra made sure that Mako had a good grip on her, and then she leaned over and offered her hand to Tarrlok. "Just… here… Take my hand." Her smooth fingers could almost reach Tarrlok's charred ones, but not quite. He would have to reach for her.

Tarrlok realized this and smirked. "No," he laughed and then let go of the cliff.

Korra shot her hand out and caught the sleeve of his shirt. Behind her, she felt Mako struggle to accommodate her sudden movement and Tarrlok's additional body weight. They would have to pull Tarrlok up quickly, or they'd all slide off the edge. She looked into Tarrlok's eyes. "Tell me who he is!" she begged. "Please! Who is Amon?"

She could barely make out Tarrlok's almost gentle voice against the mountain's raging winds. "You'll never catch him," Tarrlok whispered. "He's too good."

And then Tarrlok jerked his arm from Korra's grasp. For a split second, Korra watched in horror as Tarrlok seemed to slowly fall to the ground with a well-practiced smirk still on his smug face. But she had turned her body into Mako's arms before Tarrlok finally smashed onto the rocks below.

* * *

_AN: IT HURTS ME MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU!_

_Title is from "This Killer" by Blackfield._

_Also, Noatak's verbal smackdown is from "Boss," which you should watch if only for Kelsey Grammer. I love it and have always wanted to say it. Since that's unlikely to happen in real life, I put it in my fic because why not crossover all the things?! Seriously. YouTube that shit. It'll help you get over the whole Tarrlok dying thing. _


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Last chapter (non-con-ish things, so avert your eyes if that's not your cup of tea).

* * *

Chapter 12 – "Death is the Road to Awe"

_~*~The next day…~*~_

Once again, Korra was sitting across Beifong's desk at the police station. By the time Beifong's metalbenders had made it up to the cabin, retrieved the kidnapped girls, taken them to the hospital, and then dropped Korra and the rest of Team Avatar at the station, the sun had already risen. The team had spent the entire morning giving statements about what happened in the mountains, but the Chief still wanted to speak with Korra.

All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for the next two days. With the night's adrenaline leaving her body, Korra fought to keep her eyes open and focused on Beifong.

"Korra, I want to express my gratitude. Without your help, Tarrlok and Amon would still be out there, kidnapping at will and staging a revolt against this city, among other things. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to return to that cabin, but all those girls wouldn't be alive if you hadn't." Beifong stared calmly at the young woman before her, offering a small smile.

"You're welcome, but I honestly don't know if I deserve such praise. The fact that I escaped without freeing the other girls was haunting. I felt so guilty leaving them behind—"

"You were running for your life," Beifong justified with a firm voice. "Amon probably would have killed you had you stopped to free the others. It's not like you had keys to their cells. It would have been useless, Korra."

Korra let out a heavy sigh. "I know, but a part of me still felt guilty. And now Amon is still out there and we don't even know who he is!"

Beifong watched as the Avatar buried her face in her hands, her whole body slumping in exhaustion. The older woman leveled her voice in an attempt to steady Korra. "True, but we know he isn't furthering his revolution. It seems without him, the Equalists are lost. There's hardly been so much as verbal assault on the streets today, much less open attacks from Equalist supporters… You can't expect to solve everything in one night, Korra. These things take time. But for now, rest easy knowing you saved many lives in the past 24 hours."

Using Beifong's words against her, Korra laced her quick reply with much needed light humor. "Speaking of rest, can I go to sleep now?"

"Under one condition: my officers will escort you and keep watch over Air Temple Island." Korra opened her mouth to protest, but Beifong cut her off. "Non-negotiable."

With Tarrlok gone, Korra couldn't imagine the metalbenders betraying her again. Furthermore, she trusted Beifong to chose the best men for the job. Ultimately, Korra was also far too tired to argue. "Fine, but they better be downstairs by the time I get there," she grumpily replied as she exited the office.

Before she had closed the door, Korra heard Beifong's reply. "They are already waiting for you in the lobby."

* * *

Back on Air Temple Island, Korra slowly moved towards the women's dormitory, dragging her feet the entire way. The scraping sound of her feet against the gravel pathway lulled the weary woman into autopilot, instinctually walking towards her destination without much conscious thought. Exhaustion tightened its hold around the dull buzz of concern at the back of Korra's mind, suppressing the knowledge that Amon was still out there beneath a blanket of fatigue.

As she walked on the gravel pathway, she unknowingly approached Tenzin, Pema, and the kids. Pema's voice interrupted Korra's mental stasis and caused the young woman to physically startle. Pema, on the other hand, only looked confused. "Korra, aren't you headed into the city with us?"

"Why? I just got back from the city…" Korra replied with equal confusion.

"We're having dinner in the city tonight in celebration! Did Tenzin forget to tell you?" Pema leveled her squinting eyes at her husband in accusation.

"Dinner?" Korra whined. "But I haven't even slept yet. I've been at the station all night."

"Well, I suppose we could do some shopping and then have a late dinner, if that would work better. It would give you some time to sleep while I take my lovely wife shopping," Tenzin smiled as he tried to make up for his communication error.

Despite her near comatose state, Korra suddenly felt like celebrating. Though she hadn't captured Amon, Korra finally acknowledged that she had done a great service in rescuing all the kidnapped girls. A low-key dinner with everyone she loved actually appealed to her.

"Maybe a few hours of sleep will pick me up. I can meet you at the restaurant after I've had a nap," Korra suggested.

"Are you sure you're ok being on the Island alone? Amon is still—"

Korra cut off Tenzin, not needing to hear the rest of his sentence. Without turning around, she gestured behind her with her thumb. "I think these guys have everything covered." Tenzin and Pema leaned around Korra to see who she was pointing to. Four of Beifong's metalbenders waved back.

"Ah, I see," Tenzin said. "Well, in that case, we will see you later, Korra. Enjoy your rest – you deserve it."

After waving goodbye to the airbending family, Korra finally made it to her room, where she promptly flopped face-forward onto the bed. She didn't even bother to take off her boots or dirty clothes. Slowly, Korra drifted into an uneasy sleep. Amon's mask plagued her dreams, she couldn't get his cold, grey eyes out of her mind, and then she saw him! He was standing above her bed! She sat up with a gasp. She was drenched in sweat and her body was shaking. Korra quickly scanned the room, but no one was there. It was just a dream…

She looked out her window and realized the sun hadn't even set. She couldn't have been asleep for more than half an hour. Korra knew she wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon, so she gathered herself off the bed and headed for the bathroom. She would have to rely on a hot shower followed by some tea to give her enough energy for the next few hours.

The water on the Island always took a while to heat up. While she ran the cold water out of the pipes, Korra roughly loosened her hair, toed off her boots, and then peeled her sweat and dirt-covered outfit off her body. After testing the water's temperature with her hand, she let the warm spray hit her shoulders, and she slowly felt them relax. Unwinding a little, Korra's mind began to drift. Who was Amon? She started going through the possibilities… Someone powerful, a waterbender, who disliked Korra enough to torture and potentially kill her… Could it be Tahno? Korra acknowledged that he was a skilled pro-bender, but was he really strong enough to be Amon? No. Tahno was slimy, and though she hated to admit it, she knew Amon had charisma. How else had he built up his Equalist following?

Amon's steely eyes flashed in her mind. Korra jerked out of her thoughts and turned up the water as hot as it would go, determined to burn his gaze out of her mind. Her skin glowed red when she stepped out of the shower. Changing into some clean clothes, Korra headed to the kitchen to make herself some tea. Despite being riddled with caffeine, the aroma of the leaves always soothed her nerves. Before the water had boiled Korra heard three quick knocks on the door. She quickly padded to the front door, looking through the window to identify her visitor. Recognizing him, she swung the unlocked door open. "Hi. Um… can I help you?"

"Sorry to bother you, Avatar Korra. But I just thought you should know that the next shift won't get here for another hour, so I'll be on watch until they arrive," his raspy voice informed the girl. He noticed the damp hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, unconfined to her usual triple ponytail.

"Oh, thanks—" The sound of the boiling kettle rang from the kitchen. "I need to get that. I was just making some tea… Um, would you like some?" she asked awkwardly, unused to proper entertaining etiquette.

He was silent for a few beats, yet somehow Korra prioritized his response over the screeching kettle, and attentively waited. "Tea sounds lovely," he finally replied. After stepping inside the house, he noticed Korra move towards the door. "No, you get the kettle, I can get to door."

"Great, thanks!" she replied over her shoulder as she headed to the kitchen.

As he bolted the door, he heard the kettle's shrill whistle fade. Spying the phone line along the wall, he swiftly snipped the wire before entering the kitchen where the girl asked him how he liked his tea.

"Black, please," he roughly answered.

"That's easy enough. One black tea. Here you go, Lieutenant," Korra cheerfully piped as she gently transferred the cup into his open hands.

* * *

She looked different to him… energetic, lively, dare he say happy even? It was enough to set his blood burning. She had taken everything from him: his girls, his revolution, his own brother. And here she sat across the table from him, appearing not to have a care in the world. What gave her the right?

"I feel like I should apologize. I don't think I was very polite the last time we spoke. The stress of…everything finally got under my skin. I guess Beifong is rubbing off on me," his little Avatar laughed.

For a moment, he couldn't remember the time she was referring to. He couldn't think straight; the blood was roaring in his ears.

_Oh, Beifong's office, before she killed Tarrlok…_

"After working with Chief Beifong for so long, I completely understand. No hard feelings."

The conversation lulled. Korra was uncomfortably aware of it but didn't know what to say to Beifong's lieutenant, so she just took a sip of tea to fill the void. The fact that his face was hooded only made her tenser.

He let her squirm for a few more seconds, noticing her anxiously play with a lock of her own hair. After relishing in her discomfort, he finally asked Korra how she was doing.

She seemed taken aback by such a seemingly simple question. "Well,… I guess I'm doing ok. No, I really am. A little sleep deprived, but I'm glad all the girls are safe and healing. I can't wait to get back into a more normal routine…" A troubled look crossed her face, caused her eyebrows to pinch together and her bottom lip to slightly pout. If he had a yuan every time he'd seen that pout…

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trouble you," he comforted.

"No," Korra explained, "It's just… I can't get over the idea of Amon watching me, knowing my schedule, following me. It makes the idea of getting back into a routine kind of ominous, you know? I guess I didn't think about that before I spoke…"

He set down his tea on the table and leaned towards the Avatar as he spoke. "Well, you could always try varying your schedule—" She nodded in agreement at the simple solution and stared into her teacup while the Lieutenant continued.

"—keep Naga with you at all times for protection—"

_Naga does know how to take down an enemy… did I tell the Lieutenant Naga's name?_

"—avoid walking the streets alone at night—" _his voice, something about his voice was changing, like it was smoothing out_…

"—stop leaving your bedroom window open when you're sleeping—" _What did he just say?! His voice… it almost sounds like… _Korra slowly raised her horrified eyes to the hooded figure in front of her.

"—but, of course, then you wouldn't feel the cool sea breeze…caress your body every night—" Korra's cup fell from her loosening hands and shattered on the tabletop "—would you, my little Avatar?"

* * *

Beifong resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She knew it wouldn't help her and it would probably only further worry the officer that stood before her.

"Let me get this straight," she said in a simplistic and demeaning voice, "Lieutenant Noatak didn't report to the divisions stationed on the west side of the city yesterday—" the officer nodded "—and hasn't been seen since?" It was unlike her lieutenant to go this long without checking in. "Were there any causalities in those divisions yesterday? Could he have been injured?"

"No, Chief Beifong. Not even one injury on our end."

"Thank you. That will be all." The dismissed metalbender had just closed the door when Beifong head a scream from the hallway.

_Great, I've finally scared one of them to insanity._

Beifong rose from her desk and stepped into the hall to investigate. She recognized the young firebender, Mako, but the girl in his arms was looking the other way. Even without seeing her face, Beifong knew it was Asami Sato.

_What is she doing out of the hospital?_

"Is something going on out here, Mako?" Beifong questioned.

With tears in her eyes, Asami turned and answered Beifong. "I wanted to get down here as soon as possible to give my statement—"

"Miss Sato, you should be in the hospital. We'll get your report once you've recovered. Mako, get her back there."

"No!" Asami argued, loosening herself from Mako's grasp. "I was on my way to your office when I saw this." She was pointing to pictures of the station's officers. Jabbing her bandaged finger onto one of the frames, Asami, completely ignorant of the pain shooting through her hand, declared, "This man… This is Amon."

Beifong took a step forward, looking at the man Asami identified. She turned her gaze back to the young woman. "What makes you say so?"

"My memory of what happened is still…fuzzy. I can't put all the pieces together, but I do remember Councilman Tarrlok torturing me," she sobbed, but kept talking. "But there was another one. His eyes were this piercing silver—" she japed her finger for emphasis "—_this_ piercing silver. I can't forget those eyes…"

Beifong thought for a moment. Asami was pointing to a picture of Noatak, just before he'd made Lieutenant. Her gut told her something was wrong. The Lieutenant's strange absence that correlated with the recent events in the mountain, Asami's accusation. His time as a policeman would explain the kidnapper's uncanny ability to abduct so skillfully…

It was enough for Beifong. "We need to get to Korra."

* * *

Noatak pushed his hood off his head, never breaking eye contact with the shocked woman staring at him. "Why did you betray me, Korra, sweet little Avatar?"

Korra stared at Amon's face for the first time, still in shock. He was startlingly handsome, which terrified her more, with dark hair that hung around his eyes – those cold, metallic eyes – that bore into her. She quietly whispered, almost if she was afraid of further encouraging the fiery instability that was rolling off him in waves. "OK, let's just take it easy—"

His face twisted with rage. "ANSWER ME!"

His angry bark caused Korra to instinctually spring into action. She leaned back and kicked the low table towards Amon. He deftly jumped over it and landed on top of Korra. He didn't even need to bloodbend to overpower her – Korra's tired body felt so weak, even with the sudden surge of adrenaline pulsing through it. She felt Amon's knees digging into her thighs, painfully holding her legs in place. She tried to land a blow with her hands, but he easily captured them. He pinned them above Korra's head with one had, while gripping her chin with the other. Amon pushed her face to the side, grinding her check onto the floor as he placed his mouth against Korra's ear. "Korra, I asked you a question. And please, call me Noatak."

Whatever personality disorder he was wrestling with further terrified Korra. He had Korra's limbs securely restrained, but she continued to violently thrash her torso. She had to get away from him, but he was so heavy… Her efforts humored him and he laughed at her struggle.

"So strong-willed, just like the others. But you, Korra, you were special. I watched you for months." He yelled into her ear, "Did you hear me, Korra? I gave you MONTHS!" He rubbed his face against her neck, smelling the soap she used and taking in the smell of her freshly washed hair. He let out a small moan before biting down on the inside of her arm.

Korra screamed in pain. "Fuck you!" she spat.

"Unwise choice of words, given our current positions," Noatak whispered as he ground his erection against the inside of Korra's thigh. She shivered in disgust.

_This isn't happening. This isn't happening. Oh, spirits, this isn't happening… Focus, Korra. This is happening and you need to stop it. You are the Avatar and you will not let this scum take you down. You got away from him once and you will do it again. DO IT!_

She squirmed, which caused Noatak to grind against her again. While he was distracted, Korra was able to shift her body to the left and land one solid kick to Noatak's kneecap. It worked! He instinctually released her arms to soothe his own injury, and Korra rammed her elbow into Noatak's face, feeling the light crack of cartilage breaking. Dislodging his body from hers, she scrambled towards the door. She hadn't made it halfway there before she felt his bloodbending. Her body turned around and she was pulled towards a furious Noatak. His nose was dripping with blood, making his smile look more horrific than Korra thought possible. Once she was close enough, he gripped Korra's throat with his other hand, manually cutting off her air supply.

"I SACRIFICED FOR YOU, KORRA! AND THIS IS HOW YOU SHOW YOUR THANKS?!"

Overcome with fury, Noatak shot Korra across the room. Her body slammed into the wall, and she couldn't tell if the _crack!_ she heard came from the wood or her spine. What air she had in her lungs while Noatak had strangled her was knocked from her body, and she slumped into a ball on the floor. As his footsteps neared Korra, she heard the glass from the windows above her shatter. She quickly tried to cover her head from the glass shards.

"Get away from her, Noatak."

It was Beifong! Korra peered between the chunks of hair that had fallen over her face. Using her metal cables, Beifong had spread Noatak's arms and legs, and then pinned them to the floor. The Chief of Police went over to Korra. "Are you ok?"

Korra's teary eyes met Beifong's. "Yes, I think so." With Beifong's help, she rose to her feet.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. I tried to call, but I think he cut the line," explained Beifong, as she helped Korra walk outside the house.

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you." Korra tried to stand on her own, but her back gave out. Grunting, Korra asked, "Would you help me to the meditation pavilion. There's something I need to do."

* * *

A short while later, Beifong helped Korra move towards the immobilized Noatak, who looked like a caged wild thing. His eyes were wide and his breathing was deep and rapid. "Do your worst, my little Avatar." Even when he was beaten, his voice was still haunting.

Korra knelt above Noatak's head. Her shaky hand lightly brushed his stray locks away from his forehead. She watched his piercing eyes and for a moment, they returned to the eyes she saw below his cabin – the eyes that so convincingly told Korra that he did love her, in his disturbed and perverse way. As she placed one hand on his forehead and one on his shoulder, she meditated, almost immediately shifting to the Avatar state. The electricity of energybending flowed through her and she felt Noatak's bending leave his body. When she released her hold, Korra saw a single tear roll down Noatak's cheek.

* * *

Looking back, Korra honestly believed that Noatak hated himself for being a bender.

Unfortunately, his attempt to mask that self-loathing manifested in allowing his darkest desires to run rampant. Beifong said he would spend his life in prison, and Korra knew he deserved the strictest of punishments Republic City could offer. But sometimes she found herself thinking about him – when she cautiously walked down the porch steps, when she locked her window at night – and wondered if, despite his imprisonment, Noatak was finally at peace with himself.

* * *

AN: Welp, that's it. I ran out of energy towards the end, but I wanted to finally complete this story. Thanks to everyone who read this, and even more to the reviewers. 3


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